I Dreamt We Had a Kid
by MarvelNerd01
Summary: After Peter disintegrates in Tony's arms, he is determined to bring him back, and nothing will stop him.
1. Chapter 1

"Mister Stark,"

No, no, no,

"I don't feel so good."

Not Peter, god, please not Peter.

The kid stumbled towards Tony, falling into his arms. Tony fought back the tears, trying to stay strong.

"You're ok kid." Tony lied.

It all happens in a blur, Peters final words being "I'm sorry." Tony let his head fall in his hands. The best kid in the world, and he was apologizing? Then Tony remembered. He remembered telling him he would blame himself for Peter's death, remembered telling him sorry doesn't cut it. He let the tears fall from his face. He had begged Pepper for a kid, and he hadn't noticed he had one with him all along.

"He did it." Nebula said, her face solemn.

Tony couldn't think, he felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. It was the most pain he had ever felt, worse than Afghanistan, worse than Pepper falling into the fire, worse than watching his parents murdered in front of his face. The universe knew he would have gladly died to save the world, so to punish him, he had killed the one thing he couldn't live without.

"Stark," Nebula snapped him from his thoughts "Where do we go now?"

"Earth."

"I'm not familiar with that planet."

"It's the planet Quill was from." Tony spat out the name, remembering how he had ruined everything.

"Terra?" She pondered.

"Sure, let's go with that." Tony tried to stand, but the stabbing pain in his side made him fall down in nausea. He remembered Thanos stabbing his stomach. Nebula caught his arm and helped him limp over to the guardian's ship.

He passed out as she slumped him over a passengers chair.


	2. Chapter 2

" _Can't stop the feeling! So just dance, dance, dance," Peter tapped two wrenches on the table as he sang the song, his earbuds nestled in his messy brown hair._

 _Tony sighed while he fidgeted with his iron man suit, "Are you ever going to stop singing that song?" he had said it sarcastically, but deep down he enjoyed seeing Peter happy._

" _I thought you liked the song Mr. Stark," Peter whined, pulling his earbuds out, "but if you don't want to hear it I can put it away."_

" _No Peter," Tony got up from his chair. "What are you working on anyway?" Tony asked him, trying to change the subject._

 _Peter's face lit up as he started to excitedly explain what he was working on. "I'm working on a robot for a class! It's supposed to go into burning buildings to save people instead of firefighters."_

 _Tony was so proud, Peter was the best kid on the planet, he was sure of it._

" _Nice work, kid." He patted Peter on the shoulder and ruffled his hair. They worked on the robot together through the night, not noticing how much time had passed until May came to pick him up. At noon the next day._

"Stark," Tony heard a voice coming from somewhere. "Stark," it was louder this time.

"STARK!" he woke with a start, Nebula shaking his shoulder. Tony immediately missed the dream, he remembered that day. A favorite of his.

"Are we there?" He questioned, his side still burning from the stab wound. His web fluid bandage he had developed with Peter was starting to open up again.

"No," Her voice was monotone, "there is a problem, I need you to fix it. The jumping port is jammed, we need to try and repair it or we will not get to Terra for a long time."

"Let's get started then," He moaned when he tried to get out of his chair, and ended up stumbling over to the port. This was going to be a long trip.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony was trimming and attaching wires on alien tech he had never used before, but it seemed like he was making progress. Maybe he would have been moving faster if his mind stopped imagining Peter handing him a wrench in his lab.

Tony was desperate for conversation, but Nebula didn't particularly enjoy small talk.

"Tell me about your family," Tony said while screwing in a screw on a panel.

She paused and looked at him, a murderous look in her eyes.

"Oh, I struck a nerve didn't I?" He put as much sarcasm in his voice as possible.

"My father," She paused.

Tony had a screwdriver in his mouth when mumbled out the next line, "Daddy issues huh?

She gave him an angry glare, "He ripped every ounce of life I had left in me and painfully replaced it with machinery while my sister watched. He made us fight every day and every time I lost he replaced something inside me," She paused, "I never once won."

"You know dad's can be jerks sometimes, no need to be a pussy about it." He remembered his conversation with Harley in the garage. Wonder if he survived. His stomach sunk again at the thought of him disappearing as well. Tony knew he was being mean, and this. Girl? Had just said something personal to him and he had practically laughed at it, but speaking of bad fathers only brought up the memories of his own.

Needless to say they didn't speak for the rest of the ride to earth.

When Tony was done repairing the ship and they had jumped to earth's solar system, Tony only felt worse. The makeshift bandage was practically non-existent and he had wrapped his tracksuit jacket around his waist. They were both sitting next to each other in pilot's chairs and the silence was awkward. They wouldn't get to earth for another hour.

"I saw the boy you held," She said it matter of factly. "What was his name."

Tony swallowed.

"Hi, I'm Peter," The boy said when he walked into his Queens apartment and saw Tony Stark sitting on his couch. His eyes were wild and filled with confusion.

"Tony," He had said. "Mind if I speak to you in private?"

"Sure, sure."

"His name was Peter." Tony managed to spit out.

"Was he your son?"

Tony thought about that for a moment, he knew he would never be a good dad, not after what his own father had done to him. He wanted to be one, if not at least a good role model for Peter. He remembered when Peter had come down with the flu and he was working on web shooters in Tony's lab.

Tony looked at the couch to find a sleeping teenager. He was surrounded with tissues and cough drop wrappers.

"I don't want to get your teenager germs," Tony had mocked him, earning a small smile from the kid.

When he saw Peter, he went over and pulled the blanket up farther on his neck. He looked so peaceful and small, his nose red from blowing it all day and hair a mess from not showering. Tony couldn't help but be overwhelmed by paternal instincts.

Peter stirred, and, in his delirious state he wouldn't remember the next day he said "Thanks, Dad." and fell back asleep.

Tony had felt his heart melt as he brushed Peter's hair from his face. "You get that Fri?" He whispered to the ceiling.

"Yes, sir. Would you like me to put it under the "Peter being adorable" file?" Tony nodded. He watched that video every once and a while after that, his heart melting every time.

"No, he's not my son." Tony said.

Nebula made a "Hm" sound as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out a motion sickness vomit bag and handed it to Tony.

"What is this?" He said, still emotional from the memory of the lab. "On second thought, I might need it if I keep losing blood."

"I wouldn't puke in it." She gave him a sad look, "I collected it for you after you passed out in the ship."

Tony turned the bag over and saw a "S" written in marker on it.

"I didn't know his name, so I wrote your last name."

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

It was Peter.

He could see the grey ashes now through the bag. Peter was being kept in a vomit bag.

Tony felt herself getting sick, but he kept it in and looked at Nebula, her face emotionless as ever.

"I'm sorry," Tony managed to say through a constricted voice, "About what I said to you. I was wrong, I was just angry,"

She just nodded. "I collected everyone else as well."

Tony turned around in his chair and saw them. Four bags, "Quill", "Drax", "Mantis", and "Wizard" written on each one.

Wizard. Tony almost laughed out loud, but he remembered Strange sacrificing the stone for Tony.

"His name was Stephan." Tony felt a sadness wash over him as he remembered. The sorcerer was starting to grow on him.

"We are here," Nebula said.

Tony looked out the window and saw vast blue and green.

Home.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony leaned over Nebula's control panel with great difficulty to type in the coordinates of the avengers facility.

He knew he was not going to be able to remain conscious for long after they arrived, so he prepared himself for a mad dash to the hospital wing. The ship took longer to land than Tony had wanted it to, the nausea of the landing made him almost puke on the floor.

He held Peter close to him as he stumbled out of the ship and to the office.

"Mr. Stark," a desk lady said to him, looking slightly star struck.

"This is no time to be star struck," Tony managed to cough out, along with some blood. He passed out on the ground.  
When Tony came to, he found himself in a hospital bed with an IV and big bandage around his stomach.

"Your awake," a woman with blonde hair and a lab coat on said.

"You seem pleased by that," He replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

When he said this, he saw a look of familiarity in her eyes, almost like she knew someone as sarcastic and annoying as him, but it was replaced by a brief look of sadness.

"I'm Dr. Christine Palmer," She said to him while placing a glass of water next to him. "I was the lead surgeon in repairing your severely damaged stomach. We took a skin graph from your intestine to rebuild the torn wall."

Tony vaguely knew what that meant, whatever drugs they had given him blurring his thought. He felt his chest to grab for Peter's bag and didn't feel anything. He sat up quickly, earning a sharp course of pain through his whole body.

"Where is he?" Tony spit out, starting to get out of bed.

"Stay down, Stark." She gently pushed him back down on the bed and handed him a vile with a string attached to it. Ashes were inside of it. He gladly took it and placed it around his neck.

"Everyone seems to be wearing one these days." Her face was grim.

"I don't see one on you." Tony said, sounding slightly rude but not meaning to.

"A friend, I don't know where he is or if he is OK." She paused. "Not that it's any of your business."

Tony nodded in agreement, it wasn't his business.

After a few days in bed, Tony was done. He had to leave the hospital, so he got up to go to his lab. Out of the blue, a horrible thought crossed his mind.

Pepper.

He fell toward the bed when he realized why she hadn't come to visit him. Why he hadn't heard from him when he landed on earth. The drugs had blocked his thoughts, but now they were here in full force.

Tony pulled on clothes as calmly as he could and started walking to his lab.

"Mr. Stark," a voice came from behind the desk, "We need to show you something."

So Tony was lead to a conference room and asked to sit down. A woman approached him with a paper bag and handed it to him, a sad expression on her face.

Tony slowly unwrapped the bag to find another necklace. It had a "P" on the side.

He twirled the necklace in his hand, watching the ashes fall from one side to the other. He placed it around his neck with shaky hands, and rubbed his face. He reached once more into the bag to make sure one of his other friends ashes were not inside, instead he found a USB. Tony carefully placed the USB into a nearby laptop. He heard the familiar voice of the woman he loved, scratchy and breaking up.

"Tony, oh my god are you alright what's going on?" Her voice said.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just think we might have to reschedule our 8:30 res."

"Why?"

Tony remembered the call, his last conversation on the phone with Pepper. Her voice was already breaking up.

"Just cause, I probably won't make it back for a while."

"Tony, you're not on that ship." Her voice pleaded.

"Yeah," Tony replied.

"No please tell me your not on the ship-"

"Honey I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."

"Come back here Tony, I swear to god you come back here right now."

Tony heard the static of his voice cracking out. This was where he lost her signal, but the call kept going.

"Tony," her voice pleaded with no answer, "Tony no please, I need you."

Tony felt his stomach clench and tears threatened slip out.

"I need you-" Her voice was a whisper as she paused to catch her breathe, "to be there for our child." She cried out. "You're going to be a dad Tony."

"I love you."

The call went black.


	5. Chapter 5

" _I don't feel so good."_

Drink.

" _I Don't want to go, sir please."_

Drink.

" _I Don't want to go…"_

Drink.

Tony looked at the bottle of rum he was holding. He rotated it in his hands, watching the small amount of liquid slosh from side to side. How many bottles had he drunk now? 2? 3? He wasn't counting.

He sat at his cluttered desk in his lab, staring at the only pictures he had on his desk. One was of him and Pepper. It was from a vacation they had taken in Hawaii. Lord knows he never took vacations, so when they had taken the week to spend time with each other, it was incredible.

He and Pepper were sun tanned, flower necklaces around their necks. Pepper had a margarita in one hand, and held Tony's hand in the other as they walked down the beach. Tony was drinking water because he had given up alcohol per Pepper's request.

"So much for that." He mumbled, taking the last sip of the rum and holding it in his lap.

The other picture was of him and Peter. The two of them were in Tony's lab, focused on their work. Peter had the biggest smile on his face, fiddling with his firefighter robot, while Tony had a hand on his shoulder, a look of pride and true happiness plastered on his face.

Tony chucked the bottle at the wall, the pieces shattering all across the ground.

"Why Peter?" Tony cried, "What did he do to deserve this!" His head fell in his hands, the emotions and alcohol had finally broken him.

"It should have been me! It should have been me!" He screamed at the ceiling, "You hear me! It should have been me."

He, Tony Stark; billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist, was crying. He hadn't cried when his parents died, or when he thought he killed all his friends, but he cried now. He cried because he had lost his fiance, his child.

 _His child_

He would have been a father. She was pregnant. Maybe a part of Tony thought he was a father anyway. To Peter.

Peter was dead, Pepper was dead, and his unborn child were dead.

"FRIDAY," Tony said to the ceiling. "Play the file," Tony swallowed. "From that day in the lab."

"Yes, sir."

The projector started to play the video, the day Peter had fallen asleep with the flu on the couch.

Tony watched the tape, watched as he tucked Peter into a blanket, watched as a delirious Peter called him dad. He stroked the necklace around his neck as he watched, imagining Peter sitting with him.

Tony paused the video, and watched it again and again.

 _Dad._

Tony had failed. Failed as a mentor, failed as a fiance, failed as a hero, and most of all failed as a father.

He was going to get Peter back, you bet your ass he was. He was going to get Peter and Pepper, and Stephan, and all the people who died.

"Incoming call from Wakanda." FRIDAY's voice said.

Tony knew he looked like a mess, he was completely wasted, and he hadn't showered since he got back.

"Answer it." his 3D panels showed him an image. An an image he never thought he would be happy to see again.

Steve Rogers.


	6. Chapter 6

"Tony," Steve said. He looked tired. His normal clean-shaven face and a military haircut replaced by a thick beard and shoulder-length hair.

"Rogers." Tony tried to hide his obvious drunkenness.

"We are in Wakanda, and we need you here."

"Why do you need me, huh? I'm usually just the one who supplies the money, I'm not needed for anything else." Tony's voice was starting to raise tone.

"Tony, you're drunk. We both know that is not true."

"Is your buddy Bucky over there to rip me to shreds?" Tony's judgment was overly clouded with alcohol, but even in this state, he knew he had overstepped.

Steve noticeably tried to hide the feeling of a knife driven through him. Tony saw his face change rapidly from anger to sadness, and an emotion Tony could not quite pinpoint cross over his face, something similar to how Nat looked when Bruce had run away. Tony also watched his silence, and almost subconscious grad toward his neck, where a glass container not unlike Tony's hung around his neck. Accompanied by a set of dog tags.

Tony felt like an asshole. Bucky had meant a lot to Steve, more than either of them cared to admit. Bucky was the only one who knew what Steve was like before the serum and before the war had ruined their happy lives in a small Brookline apartment. Steve was the only one who knew Bucky, not just as the winter soldier, but as James Buchanan Barnes. They were each others missing halves of what was lost in the 40's.

"Just come to Wakanda, ok," Steve said to him, his voice sounding deep and broken. "Bucky is dead."

The screen went black.

Tony dragged himself off his desk to go find Nebula. He traveled up the elevator, stumbling from the alcohol and ended up in the front office.

"Do you know where the girl I walked in with went? All blue and robot-like." He asked FRIDAY.

"She is currently in the training facility."

"Stark," She said, not looking away from her punching bag.

"Hey blue face." He replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

She didn't respond. "Come on, we have somewhere to go."

"I'm not going. Not needed." Nebula said, punching the bag in front of her.

"Maybe you can find someone you know." Tony encouraged, trying to be helpful. "I'll give you time to think about it, I should she Dr. Palmer before I leave."

So Tony walked to the hospital wing reluctantly, for he always hated going there. He felt fine, but he had to give Nebula some time.

"Tony," Christine said when he walked into the office.

"Oh god, Tony, you're wasted." She said matter of factly.

"How else am I supposed to get through anything." He thought.

She began checking him over. "Tell me why you drank so much."

"Worried about me, doc?" He said jokingly.

"Yes."

"I watched people disintegrate, felt a young boy collapse in my arms, and had a sorcerer sacrifice the only thing we had to win to save my life." He snorted, suppressing his emotions with laughter.

She stepped away from him, her eyes pained. "A sorcerer," Tony could see her mind racing.

"You know one?" Tony said, quirking up his eyebrow. He saw her swallow.

"Stephan Strange. He's dead, isn't he."

Tony felt a weight in his heart.

"It was the only way."

Tony nodded. "We have his," He didn't want to say ashes. He also didn't really want to give them to her, he found himself missing the sorcerer himself. "We have his dust, I can get them to you."  
She shook her head, "Keep them."

There was silence as she finished checking him over.

"You can go now." She said to him in a small voice.

Tony nodded and got up to leave.

"Tony," She said, looking at him from across the room, "Bring them back."

Tony took a deep breath, his heart hammering, a newfound surge of hope and determination.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter said, hopping into the car usually driven by Happy. "Why are you driving? Not that I'm mad! I mean…"

"Peter, calm down" Tony smiled, Peter looked so incredibly happy, it rubbed off on him. Ever since Tony had started to spend more time with Peter, he hadn't had any anxiety attacks, and he was taking better care of himself. "I thought we could get ice cream or something together, you know, a little mentor-mentee bonding time?"

The massive grin on Peter's face told him everything he needed to know.  
_

Tony looked at Christine, his face serious and absolute.

"I won't stop till we do." And he meant it.

I made an IronDad fan edit, and I would appreciate it if you guys would take a look! thanks as always!

watch?v=GFLkyTFPzYI&t=1s


	7. Chapter 7

It didn't take much convincing for Nebula to join Tony on the trip to Wakanda. When he approached her again, she simply walked by him toward the ship.

Tony, unwilling to repeat the awkward ride to earth, decided to remain silent for the whole of the short ride. Instead, he stroked the necklace around his neck, eyes closed, remembering a day with Peter.

" _Thank you for picking me up again, Mr. Stark, sir," Peter said nervously, getting into the car with Tony for the third day in a row._

" _My pleasure, really, a billionaire like myself do sometimes have to drive himself. Especially if it is for his slightly annoying intern." Tony didn't mean it at all, he was so happy with peter around him. His youthful energy pulled at him and made him feel better about himself as well. Knowing someone as amazing and brilliant as Peter could see him as a role model suppressed his self-hatred to a tolerable degree, something he never thought possible._

 _When they got back to the tower, Tony and Peter were going to start decorating the lab for Christmas. Tony claimed it was so Peter would "Use his abilities to help a tired old man," but Tony just wanted to enjoy something with Peter that a normal …. Family….. Would do._

" _The ornaments are in the crawl space," Tony said, pointing to a small, dark space._

 _Peter looked hesitant but went into the crawl space anyway. Tony was hanging a garland when he realized it had been several minutes since Peter went in the crawl space. In a moment of worry, he went over to it._

" _Peter?" he called into the darkness. No answer. "Peter!" he called again, pulling out his phone flashlight and shining it into space. There was Peter, a curled up ball, head in his knees, rocking back and forth, faint cries could be heard._

" _Hey Pete," Tony nervously said, crawling toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're okay." Peter kept crying and shaking._

" _FRIDAY what's wrong?" he asked as calmly as he could, panic rising in him._

" _It seems Mr. Parker is having an anxiety attack." her calming voice said from the ceiling._

 _Tony wrapped his arms around Peter holding him close, trying to ground him. "Peter it's me, your ok." Tony started to half carry half pull Peter from the crawl space. He set him gently on the couch and saw his breathing start to return to normal._

" _I'm sorry Mr. Stark," he said, voice raspy from crying, "I…"_

" _Peter, stop." Tony looked him in the eyes, still gripping his shoulders. "It's ok."_

 _Peter fell into Tony, hugging him close and crying again. Tony felt his heart breaking. gripping Peter close, never wanting this young, happy boy to have to endure that EVER again. He was far too young. Peter calmed down eventually, his cries turned to sniffles._

" _What happened, Underoos?" He said as gently as possible._

" _When…" Peter swallowed, seemed worried. "When I was in the crawl space, I remembered something that happened to me." He paused again. "I felt like I was in there again and I…."_

" _Peter, I'm lost," Tony said confused._

" _When I was fighting Toombs, he collapsed the building we were in and I.." His voice was cracking again. "I was stuck under rubble, and I called for help but no one came, I, I couldn't use a phone because I didn't have my suit, and I…" Peter was rambling._

 _Tony felt his heart stop. His fault. Tony took Peter's suit. Peter could have died. Died because Tony took the suit. The suit he built to protect Peter. He had taken it as his father would have and Peter almost died. He couldn't call for help. Died._

 _Died._

 _Tony took a shaky breath, determined to keep it together until later. In his most gentle, sincere voice he could conjure without cracking like an egg, he looked Peter in his brown, deer in the headlights eyes. Red and swollen from crying._

" _I'm so, so, sorry Peter." Tony pulled his hand away, Peter probably never wanted to see him again._

" _No, Mr. Stark, I deserved it. Screwed the pooch, you know?" His lip turned up in the slightest way possible, but it was sincere. "It's my fault. Please don't blame yourself, Mr. Stark."_

 _And then, slowly and cautiously Peter leaned into him and hugged him. He was clearly hesitant, since the last time he had tried to hug Tony, Tony had said. "We're not there yet." Tony hugged him back, tighter than he ever had. His heart rushing with a mix of guilt and happiness. Peter had to be some kid to forgive him. And even though Tony hadn't slept for a week after that, working on Peter's iron spider suit and drinking his guilt away, It was the most… loved, he had ever felt._

Tony wiped a tear from his eye and glanced at Nebula, hoping she hadn't noticed his sudden show of emotion. He squeezed the necklace once more before letting it cling against his reactor, happy knowing it was this close to his heart.

"Nebula what are you doing!" He said in a panic as she drove the ship head first into the Wakandan forcefield. Tony was thrown back in his chair with a jolt. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw the most beautiful forest he had ever seen. Luscious green jungle, surrounded by the most skin warming sunset he had ever seen.

 _Peter would have loved it here._


	8. Chapter 8

Tony takes a tentative step toward the exit of the ship, knowing full well who will be there to greet him. The door opens slowly, and Tony can start to feel the warm Wakandan breeze slip through the door.

And then he is face to face with Steve Rogers.

His face looks like it did in the call, but his suit. His suit is covered in dust and soot, the once bright and gleaming symbol of America stained grey. A glass tube hangs around his neck with dog tags.

"Rogers," He says, pausing on the gangway to look Steve in the eye.

"It's good to see you, Tony," He says, looking like he wants to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but knows they still have a long way to go before they can do that.

"We missed you," he gives Tony a small smile, which to his credit, seems real even if it is not.

"You alright?" Tony replies.

"I'll be alright, always have been," He smiles again, but his eyes are pained. There is a silence for a moment. The kind of silence that is both necessary and completely unwanted.

Tony glances behind him to see Nebula, handing the other vomit bags to a. A raccoon? Nothing surprises Tony anymore.

"Gentleman" Shuri comes up from next to Steve, "It is an honor to finally meet the great Tony Stark." Her accent is smooth and thick. "I look forward to working with you in my lab." She is young, Tony thinks, far too young to be a queen. Probably near Peter's age.

"Yes, I look forward to using Wakandan technology," Tony replies.

"Tony," a voice comes from the crowd, Rhodie. Tony just about dies with happiness. One of his friends survived!

"Hi Rhodie Bear," He says nonchalantly, but at the same time gripping in a vice of a hug. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Tones. We all thought you were dead."

"Well, here I am." Tony spreads his arms in a display of his presence.

"Let us return to the briefing room to discuss what has happened." Shrui interrupts.

So they walk through the slick, modern Wakandan palace to a large room with chairs around a table. When everyone is sitting down, Tony must admit it feels rather nostalgic.

"Just like old times," He jokes.

They overview what happened in Wakanda leading up to the snap. Tony learns that Loki was killed by Thanos, for real this time. He does not learn this from Thor himself though, for he has gone out into the galaxy to search for his brother.

"Apparently before Loki died he said something about the sun shining again," Bruce adds in. "Thor is convinced it means Loki is alive.

"Let's talk casualties," Natasha says, leaning her elbows on the table.

"Sam, Tchalla, Wanda, Bucky," Steve winces at the name, "Groot, no one has heard from Clint or Scott-"

"Who is Scott?" Tony adds in.

"Ant-man," Steve says, his eyes hazy and distracted.

"You mean the guy that tore up my suit on the airfield?"

Steve nods.

"Who was lost on Titan?" Bruce asks. From across the table, the raccoon flinches.

Tony swallows, trying to get a grip, but Nebula is the one who answers. "Besides all the guardians, We lost a man called Stephen Strange and Peter."

"Parker," Tony adds in, already feeling the memories that never left swirling in his thoughts.

"I have never heard of him before," Steve's voice comes from Tony's right.

Tony is unsure if he should tell them Peter's identity. Peter trusted him with this secret, it would be a betrayal. Before Tony can say anything though, Nebula has already said

"Spiderman."

Steve looks like he remembers something, his face contorted in thought. After a moment, it falls into sadness.

"The kid from Queens," He mutters under his breath so quietly that Tony had to be listening to hear it.

"Well everyone, I would like to show Mr. Stark here the project I need him to help me with." Shuri interrupts. Tony's breath catches in his throat. Peter called him that.

"Please, call me Tony."


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as Tony, Bruce, and Shuri make it to the lab, Shuri starts explaining things.

"Before I started to work on removing the mind stone from Vision, I downloaded his matrix into our computer database."

"It is good to see you again, Mr. Stark," A voice says from the ceiling.

"Jarvis?" Tony says in disbelief.

"Not exactly, sir, I am Vision."

"Of course you are, sorry." Tony rubs his face, When was the last time he slept again?

"I am going to do what Ultron did, but better." She smiles. God, she reminded him of Peter. "Construct cells from vibranium. Ingenius, really." Tony is there, but she is talking to herself, tapping a 3D panel in the air.

They work in silence for a long time. Shuri retracing neurons and Tony assembling the mechanical body.

"Tony," Shuri's voice says. "It is night, let's get food."

"I'm good," He says, attaching two wires.

"It wasn't a request, Stark."

There was no point in arguing, so he follows Shuri to the kitchen. Rhodie is sitting on a couch, talking to Nat. Bruce is reading a book, his eyes trained on the words. Steve is in the kitchen, cooking.

Steve looks up from the bowl he is stirring and looks up at Tony, a small smile spreading across his face, but it does not reach his eyes. He hands Tony a bowl of food wordlessly.

Tony decides to sit near the window, watching closely out it at the dark night covering the trees like a woolen blanket. He zones out, a memory coming to him.

"What movie do you want to watch kid?" He asks Peter, who is holding a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

"Let's watch Alien." He says with excitement.

So they sit on the couch together, eating ice cream and watching the movie, but Tony isn't really paying attention to the movie. He watching how Peter is mouthing the character's lines because he has seen it so many times. Watches how his whole face lights up when they make a joke, and how he jumps a little at the scares.

Halfway through the movie though, Peter is looking sleepy and he crawls closer to Tony. He rests his head near Tony's shoulder and Tony is not quite sure what to do. Peter has never tried to do this before, but he can't say he doesn't like it, so he wraps his arm protectively around Peter's shoulders with a happy sigh.

After a few minutes, he can feel Peter's chest rising and falling in sleep. Tony smiles as he strokes Peter's hair and turns off the TV. He could get up and take Peter to his own room, but he decides maybe he should stay here with Peter.

Tony falls asleep with Peter curled up to him. He doesn't have any nightmares that night.

Tony blinks his eyes, realizing he hasn't touched his food and it has gotten cold. He's not hungry anyway. He stares out the window again, taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee.

Tony has to blink because he thinks he sees a small ship landing on the field.

"Guys," Tony says, looking behind him. "There's a ship."

The Avengers are on their feet in seconds, grabbing the nearest weapon and running outside, ready for an attack. The door opens painfully slowly, and the Avengers draw nearer.

What stumbles out of the ship is not a hostile invader, it's Clint Barton.


	10. Chapter 10

The first thing Tony notices is that Clint looks like a corpse. His skin is pale and thin. His face is sunken and thin. His body is slim and bony, and his eyes are without life or joy.

He practically falls into Natasha, muttering something as she pulls him toward the hospital. When they pass by Tony, he can hear it.

"They're all dead."

If the team was in low spirits before, now they were gone all together. Clint didn't leave his bedroom. Nat stayed with him constantly, trying to get him to eat and drink.

Tony didn't sleep. He worked constantly in the lab on Vision. Trying to wipe his brain of all the pain he felt. How he wished he had alcohol, but Steve had taken all of it. If Tony really wanted to get some, he would be able to get it, but he decided that working would be more productive. The thought of how they were going to defeat Thanos was always in the back of his mind.

Tony didn't know what time of day it was, but he was fiddling with some more wires, alone in the lab. Shuri and Bruce had already gone to bed, making Tony promise he would head up in a few minutes. He nodded and kept working.

That was a few hours ago.

He downed his next cup of coffee, adding it to the stack of empty mugs sitting on a nearby desk. He was deeply in thought about the wires when he heard a voice from the doorway.

"Tony," Tony looked behind to find Steve standing in the doorway in a white Shirt and jeans. "How long has it been since you slept?" His voice was full of (what Tony assumed) was fake concern.

Tony pondered that. The snap happened, what, April 17? He slept when he was in the hospital and then once again after a while in the lab. Or did he? Tony didn't know, it didn't matter.

"The 17th," Tony spits out, wrenching in an arm socket.

"Tony, It's the 20th," Steve is walking towards him, a look of deep concern on his face. Tony just snorted.

"At least it's still April," Tony muttered under his breath, forgetting Steve had super soldier hearing.

"Tony, it's May, May 20th." Tony can see Steve swallow nervously as he approaches him. He doesn't hesitate to place a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"I've lost too many people in this war, Tony." His blue eyes are staring straight through Tony. "I can't lose you too."

Tony doesn't know what to say to this. He glances down at his work again, trying to find something to make Steve go away.

"You're not the only one who's lost, people." Tony's tone is meant to bitter, but it comes out more desperate.

"I know."

Tony swallows, "Leave me alone, cap." Tony attempts to shrug off Steve's hand. It doesn't budge.

"Tony, look at yourself." He gestures to the pile of coffee mugs, there must be at least twenty. How did they all get here? "Your running on caffeine and god knows what else. I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't eaten anything either. I know your hurting, we all are, but locking yourself up in here isn't doing you any good."

Steve doesn't know the real reason why Tony doesn't sleep. The nightmares are awful. They eat at his soul, giving him horrible flashbacks and fear. Dying of sleep deprivation is a much better option, then maybe he can be with Peter and Pepper again. But Steve's pleading eyes and sincere expression are enough to make him give in. He can just sneak back down to the lab when Steve leaves.

He doesn't realize how tired he actually is until he tries to walk up the stairs. Steve has to practically carry him, which doesn't exactly help his self-esteem. Tony is surprised when Steve leads him to his bedroom. When Tony thinks about it though, it's not that odd. He hasn't slept in his own bedroom yet, so it just looks like another hotel. Maybe Steve thinks it will be more "homey" if he's not in a sterile room.

Steve throws him a shirt and shorts and tells him to shower and change, leaving the bedroom and closing the door. When Tony steps into the bathroom, he looks in the mirror for the first time since before the snap. He looks terrible. Big, dark eye bags are under his lifeless eyes. He looks thin, and when he takes his shirt off, can see his own ribs, engulfed in the glow of the arc reactor. His hair is dry and knotted. He looks just as bad as Clint.

Sighing, he steps into the shower, the warm water running over him feels nice. He washes his hair and dries himself off. When he puts the clothes on he laughs because they are a few sizes too big.

Steves clothes.

Tony decides he is going to sneak back down to his lab and slowly pushes open the bedroom door. He makes his way over to the elevator when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Ugh," He groans.

"Do think I am stupid?" Steve is there, a book in his left hand, a chair over his shoulder in the hallway. He was sitting there waiting for Tony to try and leave. For some reason, Tony feels guilty, like a child caught out of bed. He laughs out loud at the thought because that's _exactly_ what he is. He is so small and fragile now, he might as well be one.

"This is not funny Tony," Steve says, turning him forcefully yet gently to the bedroom. When Tony finally gets in the bed, he turns his head in the pillow. It smells of paper, rosemary, and cheap soap. Why did it smell of cheap soap? The soap in Wakanda was the finest around. He watched as Steve sat in a chair across from the bed, licking his finger and turning the page.

"You going to get in bed with me too?" Tony jokes.

"I need to make sure you do not leave." He doesn't take his eyes off the book.

 _Steve really does see right through me._

Tony suddenly feels the wave of exhaust flow through him. He had been running on coffee for so long, he didn't even feel tired anymore, but now that he was in bed sleep got the better of him and he nodded off.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony is standing in the middle of an orange expanse. Everyone is there, Peter, Pepper, Stephan, Bucky, Sam, Wanda.

"Peter!" He calls out, running towards Peter. He isn't moving though, his feet slipping like he is inside an invisible cage. He pounds on the invisible wall, crying out everyone's name. It's Bucky who sees him first. Relief sinks through Tony until he sees the angry winter soldier strutting towards him.

"Your just as much of a failure as your father," he spits, "My only regret is I didn't kill you too." He is laughing a maniacal laugh.

"I am disgusted to have you as a son," Howard says, coming from the other side of Tony. "You could have been my greatest creation." He spits in Tony's face.

Tony is flooded with anger as Stephan walks toward him, his usual casual smirk replaced by a snarl. "I can't believe I sacrificed the time stone for this." He gestures at Tony, a look of disgust on his face. Tony swallows, he will not cry, not with all the people here. He sees Pepper walking toward him, and hope flows through him. Pepper loved him.

"You let us die!" She cries, "This is all your fault, you let your fiance and child die! You are an utter failure Tony Stark." She doesn't even look at his face, just walks away. Everyone is laughing at him. Tony wants to die. Maybe he is dead, in hell. Then he sees Peter, the meager feeling of hope slipping through once more.

"Peter," he is barely able to say, his throat closing from tears. He vaguely realizes that is the first time he hasn't used a nickname to speak to him.

"Don't even talk to me," the bitter tone in Peter's voice so wrong, so foreign. His eyes are filled with hatred.

"How dare you think of me as your son! You killed me! You have no right!" His arms are flailing all over the place.

"Did you even think to tell aunt May I died? No! You left her inside her apartment, wondering if her nephew was alive or a pile of dirt." The others are encouraging Peter, telling him to keep going.

"How dare you wear that around your neck!" He points at his own ashes around Tony's neck, "It should be her." He pauses, a whole nother form of anger reeling through him, his fists are clenched at his sides. Peter looks Tony dead in the eyes, "you mean nothing to me."

"Tony," He hears a soft voice near his head and a strong arm on his shoulder, "Tony wake up it's just a dream."

Tony slowly opens his eyes and his face feels hot. His head is pounding. He groans and looks up at the man comforting him. Steves blue eyes are filled with concern.

"God, Tony, I didn't think I was going to be able to wake you." He pulls Tony closer until Tony's head is in the crook of his neck. He lets out a cry. One he has been holding in for far too long. The nightmare surges through him. It was all right, everything they said. He is a failure. He cries harder and harder, ripping Peter and Pepper's necklace off of him and placing it gently on the table.

"Tony what are you doing," Steve says, he looks like he is just trying to hold it together for Tony.

"I-I," Tony can't speak, he is so tired, so broken. When was the last time someone even asked him if he was ok? The thought was humorous, not since Pepper. Here Steve was, holding him and letting him cry when Tony knew for sure Steve was having similar problems.

"I don't deserve to wear them." He lifts his head up and looks Steve in the eye.

"Tony," he sighs, "I don't know what happened in your nightmare, but I do know Pepper loved you, I know what love looks like," he falters, his eyes going distant for a moment, "and I know she loved you." Tony takes a shaky breath, he wants to ask Steve who he loves, vaguely remembering a woman named Peggy from his museum exhibit.

"I'm sure Peter loved you too," Steve encourages. He reaches to the table and gently places the necklaces around Tony's neck, pressing them to Tony's heart, he says "They will always live on in our hearts," Steve swallows, "We will get them back Tony and you can tell them how much you love them."

Tony doesn't say anything, he just closes his eyes once more, letting himself fall asleep in Steve's embrace. He doesn't have any more nightmares.


	12. Chapter 12

When Tony wakes up, he is tucked closely under the blankets, a bottle of water sits next to his bed, along with an Advil. He gladly takes the pill and ends up guzzling all the water. He gets up from the bed, noticing Steve is gone, his book resting on the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

Tony pitters to the kitchen, and sees Steve, flipping pancakes on the pan. He is alone in the kitchen. Tony coughs, getting Steve's attention. Steve slides the pancakes onto a plate and passes them to Tony with a fork, placing a few blueberries on top before giving them up. Tony takes them with a nod and devours them within seconds. How long had it been since he ate? Steve laughs, placing a few more on his plate.

"Thank you," Tony says with a mouth full of pancakes. "For last night."

"That's what friends do," Steve smiles, a genuine smile. Tony finally decides their friendship is fixed. Maybe it will never be the same as it once was, but that's ok. Both have suffered so much, it would be surprising if they kept their relationship the same. It would feel fake. Suddenly, Tony remembers Steve's comment about loving someone.

"Who did you love anyway Steve?" Tony asks with a joking tone. Steve _blushes._ Tony made Captain America blush, that's an achievement. Steve doesn't say anything though, he looks sad again. His hand is resting in the middle of his chest.

"Was it that Peggy woman?" Tony asks, nonchalantly, plopping one more blueberry into his mouth. He holds one out to Steve, and he just shakes his head.

"You could say that," he says, but his expression shows something else. Steve Rogers is good at a lot of things, but lying is not one of them. Perhaps Tony is over analyzing, but he swears he sees Steve glance down.

"Hey, Steve, you don't have to tell me. I just spilled my guts out to you last night," he chuckles.

"It was Peggy," he says more certainly this time. Tony nods, satisfied with the answer for now. They sit in comfortable silence for a while as Steve cleans up his cooking, leaving a large stack of pancakes on a plate for the rest of the team.

Tony yawns, "What time is it anyway?" he asks.

"5:30," Steve mumbles into his tea, sitting in the chair Tony sat in a while ago, the one that looks over the trees. Tony assumes he stirred up some old emotions in him with Peggy. He knew it must not be easy to live in a world where everyone you ever knew is dead.

"I'm going to the lab," Tony shouts to Steve over his cup of coffee, walking away with new found energy. Steve doesn't respond and with one last glance over Tony's shoulder, he sees Steve rotating something in his hands while looking over the sunrise and trees of Wakanda.


	13. Chapter 13

When Tony arrives in the lab, he begins working when Shuri and Bruce soon arrive. They work all day, and when Tony gets up to get a wrench after Shuri and Bruce go to bed, he bumps into Steve, leaning up against the wall with an eyebrow raised.

Tony rolls his eyes. "Dragging me to bed, Mom?" he groans.

"Yes." He says rather seriously, grabbing Tony's arm and pulling him to the bedroom. When Tony is done showering, he opens the bedroom door and sees Steve reading his book out in the hallway.

"Bed," Steve says, not glancing up from his book. When Tony's head hits the pillow, Steve is sitting in the chair across the bed.

It goes on like this for a long time. Tony works in his lab all day, is dragged to bed by Steve, and then is forced to eat breakfast. He would never admit he is starting to feel better, amazing what a proper sleeping schedule and food will do. Tony would also never admit Steve sitting across from him has prevented further nightmares. _At least someone cares_ , he told himself.

One night though, he does have a nightmare. He obviously didn't thrash around too much, because Steve is still in his chair. Tony decides he should go to the bathroom and passes a sleeping Steve Rogers. When he is done, he walks by Steve again and the bathroom light catches the pages of his book. Now that Tony thinks about it, Steve has been reading the same book every night. The bookbinding looks the same.

Curiosity overtakes him and he reaches for the book. When he looks at the cover though, he realizes it is not a book at all. It is a sketchbook. He looks at it for a while, it looks strangely familiar. Then he realizes it is the one Steve begged him to buy from the museum.

" _Please Tony, I know it costs a lot, and I know it seems stupid, but I really need it back." Steve's eyes were full of desperation. He so rarely asked for things that Tony knew it must have been important, so he bought back the book for roughly two million dollars. He told Steve it was only a few thousand._

Now Tony had to know what was inside. Why was this so important to him? The sudden thought that he was invading Steve's privacy passed through his mind, but he shrugged it off. He had bought the book, hadn't he?

The first page had a name.

 _Steven Rogers_

 _1927_

He turned the page again and was shocked. It was a simple sketch of a dark haired boy sitting on a stair. He had suspenders and deep, brown eyes. His head was thrown back in laughter. Even though it was a simple sketch, it gave off a glow of youthfulness and innocence.

He turned the page again and again, coming across the dark haired boy every so pages. The drawings mostly consisted of still lifes, or people sitting on benches. One was titled "Mother" and was a drawing of a blonde, middle aged woman cooking at a stove.

As the years progressed, the drawings got better and better. If the first drawings were beautiful, these were downright breathtaking. He turned to a page with another date at the top.

 _July 4,1934_

The fourth of July, Tony smiled. There was something else important about that date, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

The picture itself was breathtaking. Fireworks were flying above two boys, almost men now, sitting on a picnic blanket. One of the boys Tony recognized from the other pictures, the one with brown hair was larger now. He had grown taller and more muscular. His eyes looked the same though, youthfull and joyous.

He was smiling widely at the other boy, a thin frail thing with no muscle. His hair was long and he was brushing it out of his face, Even though most of his hand covered his face, he could see the boy's smile. It traveled all the way through his face and up to his eyes. His eyes though, Tony knew those eyes. They were the eyes of Steve Rogers.

They were different though. They were happy and carefree, unlike the eyes of his friend now. The other boy in all his drawing must be Bucky, he concluded. Tony had to admit the picture was one of the best drawings he had ever seen. Lost in it once more, he didn't notice Steve shift next to him.

Tony gently placed the notebook back in Steve's lap and climbed into bed. That was the Bucky Steve knew, not the killing machine that had killed his parents. Suddenly, Tony knew why Steve had wanted to find Bucky again. He wanted to find the boy in the drawings again, and he got a broken, battered man instead. Tony felt guilt as he fell asleep that night.


	14. Chapter 14

"Today is the day," Shuri said excitedly as Tony walked in the lab, coffee in hand.

"Maybe," Bruce adds in, his glasses down to the tip of his nose.

So they begin work on Vision, adding in the last few neurons and programming.

Hours flew by while their mechanical motions drew Vision closer and closer to life, guiding them through the computer as they work.

"The problem is," Shuri said, "He only remembers what happened when we downloaded him."

 _So he doesn't know about the snap, about Wanda._ Tony thinks. He just nods.

"We'll fill him in."

They work in silence for a while longer, that is until Bruce starts freaking out.

"Guys, look outside." He says nervously.

Tony looks and is confused, "What is it Bruce, it's just a lightning storm, don't be a scaredy cat."

Bruce swallows and just shakes his head, "I need to do something," he says, running out of the lab.

Tony follows him to the main living room. He sees all the team crowded around someone on the couch. Bruce pushes through the crowd and Tony can see who it is.

Thor.

Bruce gets down on one knee to look at him. His fists are clenched and he looks angry. The raccoon (Tony still doesn't know his name) is sitting next to Thor, his little paws dangling over the edge of the table.

"Thor, what did you find," Bruce's voice is gentle.

"Nothing, my friend, I have found nothing." His voice is solemn. Tony can't say he is surprised he hasn't found his brother.

Tony looks around the rest of the room and sees Clint. He looks a lot better, his skin has more color now, he has put on some weight, but his eyes are not full of life they are filled with rage. Vengeance, even.

Tony puts it together that Bruce is not going to leave Thor for a while, so he heads back down to the lab.

"Help me with this, we are very close," Shuri says as he walks in.

So he does and after a few minutes, he grabs for a wrench that is on his desk. He feels the air.

"Ugh," he groans, "Can you hand me the wrench, Pete?" The words slip from his mouth before he can change them.

"Who is Pete," Shuri says casually, "you actually called me him a lot before you started sleeping again."

Tony pinches his nose, "He was a friend of mine." _Come on Tony, pull it together._ "I think you would have liked him."

"Well, I look forward to meeting him," Shuri smiles, her hands putting together the last few pieces.

"We're done." Tony nods as they push the power button.

The robotic body's eyes creep open, it's hand moving up to its forehead. Vision turns his head and looks at Tony, "Sir?" he seems confused.

"Where is Wanda?" His voice sounds concerned as he begins to get off the table.

"Take it easy there buddy," Tony says, easing Vision off the table. "We have a lot to fill you in on."


	15. Chapter 15

Vision looks ok. He is acting normal enough, though he is definitely distressed about Wanda and the others. Constantly repeating they will take down Thanos.

Steve still makes Tony sleep while he is there, and Tony starts to wonder when the man sleeps himself. Super soldiers don't need that much sleep, Tony presumes.

"Tony," Steve says, standing in the kitchen about to drag him to bed.

"Your hair," Tony gestures at Steve's haircut. He trimmed it to the way it used to be and his beard is shaved off.

"Long hair kept getting in my face when I ran," He smiles and Tony cannot help but notice he is still gripping the same sketchbook.

More time passes. Clint is seen outside with Natasha, shooting arrows, and Thor is never seen, though Bruce visits him constantly. Bruce tells everyone he is still trying to find Loki. Tony hasn't seen much of Nebula either, she seems to be spending time with the raccoon. Rocket, Bruce told him its name was.

Last night was a rough night for Tony, the recurring nightmare on the moon still haunts him. Today it troubles him more so because today is Peter's birthday.

The whole day Tony is on edge, ready for grief to strike him once again. After sitting at his usual chair in the kitchen, he decides today is the day. The day he goes to see May. Tony swigs down his coffee in one gulp and gets up to go. He is not sure what he should bring, so doesn't bring anything.

"I need to borrow a ship," he says to Shuri.

"Wakanda is not a rental facility," she says with sarcasm, pointing him towards a small and sleek single pilot craft.

Tony settles himself for the flight, telling the plane to take him to the old avenger's tower. He places his feet on the dashboard and takes out a pair of glasses. He looks at them a few times and rotates them in his hands before gently placing them on his face. He spins his chair around so he is looking at the open space of the jet, and presses a button on the side of the glasses.

There is a small flash of blue, and then there he is, sitting with Peter at a table alone.

"Mr. Stark," Peter says with a smile, handing Tony a piece of paper, "MIT wants my robot, they want me to work on it for them," Tony remembers the feeling of pride when Peter tells him this.

"That's amazing Pete," His fake self-says, placing a hand on his shoulder. He reaches around him to grab a box wrapped in red and blue paper.

"Happy birthday, kiddo," he says, passing it to an awestruck Peter.

"Mr. Stark," he stutters "You didn't need to- that's really nice of you sir- I don't…"

"Kid, open it."

Peter slowly pulls off the top of the paper, looking at Tony for encouragement before tearing off the rest. His eyes go wide at the item, a thin metal bracelet.

"It's beautiful Mr. Stark!" He is already putting it on his wrist.

"Peter, wait." Fake Tony is laughing, pulling Peter's wrist toward him and pushing a small button on the side. Nanobots come out of the bracelet to create a web shooter.

"Wow, Mr. Stark!" He says happily, and Tony can swear he sees tears in his eyes, "This is amazing- thank you."

"Don't mention it, kid," he says, ruffling Peter's hair and pulling him into a side hug.

Tony watches and remembers. He remembers that he didn't tell Peter that he put $100,000 into his debit card, never mind how he got the account password. He remembers being filled with happiness that day, more happiness than he usually felt.

He looks at the paused memory once more, viewing Peter's happy smile again before slowly taking off the glasses and placing them on the table.

"Arriving in the New York facility," the plane says, landing on the old launch pad.

And so, just like it used to be, Tony steps out of the plane and onto the platform he knows so well.


	16. Chapter 16

New York has looked better, he decides while walking through the street. Buildings are still in slight disarray and shops are closed down. What overwhelms him most though, is the people walking around, each and every one of them a necklace like his around their necks.

He walks closer to May's apartment, taking in his surroundings. And then he is on Bleeker street. He sees the massive building and the stone eye shape on the top. Tony looks further down the street, a hole still in the ground from the ship landing there. He takes a deep breath.

"I'll come back here later." He says to himself, walking forward to May's apartment once more.

The building looks to be in disarray, some bricks on the ground, but he hides his anxiety and proceeds to walk through the door and up to the apartment. The door looks the same as it always had and Tony isn't sure if this is a good idea. May is going to gut him and blame him for killing her nephew, but he knocks anyway because he has to.

He hears shuffling behind the door and watches as it slowly opens to reveal the small and broken looking woman standing behind it. She blinks when she sees him, a look of confusion on her face, and then she pulls him into a tight embrace.

 _I was not expecting that,_ he says to himself.

"Tony Stark," she pulls away, shutting her apartment door and leading him inside, "you don't have to tell me." she isn't making eye contact with him. "He would have come home already if he-" she pauses to collect herself.

"I'm so sorry, May," he breathes out gently, "I should have come sooner, this is all my fault." he places his head in his hands and tries to fight away the panic growing in his stomach.

"No Tony it's not your fault." she shakes her head. They sit there in comfortable silence for a moment. Tony places his hand on his necklace one more time, secretly wishing he didn't have to do this, but he does. He reaches around his neck and slowly takes it off, stretching it out to May.

"He would have wanted you to have it," he puts on his best possible fake smile, feeling the panic of Peter not being near his heart bubbling dangerously close to the surface.

She takes it and rotates it, bringing it up to her lips, she kisses it gently and squeezes it in her hand with her eyes clenched.

"You know Tony," she makes eye contact with him, her eyes shimmering with tears. "I don't think he would have." She gently grabs Tony's hand and opens the fingers to place the vile in them and then closes his fingers tightly around it.

"You meant a lot to him," she purses her lips. "He lost so much in his short life, his mother, his father, his uncle," she takes a deep breathe, "and here you came in, the man he idolized his whole life, gave him a superhero suit, and treated him like a son." her tone is serious now.

"He would have never told anyone this, but he saw you as the father he never had."

Tony doesn't know what to say to that. His heart beat is filling his ears and his mouth does not want to speak, so he just swallows and blinks while he places the necklace around his neck, feeling the familiar clang of the glass on his reactor.

"He was the best son I could have asked for," he smiles a weak smile, but it is genuine. He grips May's hand in his own and they sit in silence for a few minutes, the two of them shedding a few tears in the silence.

"I should get going," he says finally, "i'll come back soon May." She just smiles and on the way out, Tony places a large wad of cash on the kitchen table, just in case she needed it.


	17. Chapter 17

I was asked about my upload schedule, so I thought I should fill you in. I post pretty much every day because I have chapters prewritten. Sometimes I post twice a day as well, who knows.

Ok thanks, enjoy this chapter.

Tony walks to the sanctum again, a bounce of confidence in his step as he quickly knocks on the door. When the door creeps open, it is Wong who stands there.

"Stark," His voice has no emotion, "What do you want."

"Temper, temper, moi Wong," he says with sarcasm, getting an eye roll from Wong.

"I came to give you something," he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small vial with Stephans ashes in it. Wong's expression remains the same, but Tony observes his shoulder's sinking back a little.

"Come, Stark," he says, pulling him into the sanctum. "Follow me."

So Tony is dragged up the stairs into a small room with only pillows on the ground.

"Are you sacrificing me to the devil?" Tony jokes. Wong ignores him, placing a few candles on the ground around a small dish with an ancient looking ladle in the middle. They sit on the cushions and Wong empties the ashes into the bowl. Tony isn't sure what comes next until he is horrified when Wong ladles a small spoonful of ashes into a flame, muttering something under his breath.

"What the hell are you doing," Tony exclaims on fear, "those are his ashes!" Wong does not reply though and Tony is full of rage.

"Tony," says a familiar voice behind him. Tony jumps from the pillow and is face to face with a ghost looking version of Stephen Strange.

"Stephan?" He says, his heart still pounding from the scare.

"The one and only," he laughs, "sort of."

"What the hell is going on?" he asks the form above him.

"The snap sent all of us into an alternate universe," Stephen says, concerningly nonchalantly.

"But I watched you dissolve."

"Yes, you watched me and others dissolve from this universe."

Tony's face must still show utter confusion because Stephan rolls his eyes.

"Every person is currently living in another plane of reality, a plane of reality where their happiest dreams have come true. Some are re-living forgotten memories, some are living their wildest dreams. But," he adds in, "it is not real, it is fake. Everyone knows of this to be true inside their own worlds. They wish to return home."

There is silence for a moment.

"I do not have much more time to project, Tony, it is extremely difficult to do this." He floats closer to Tony, his eyes piercing into Tony's.

"There is a reason I saved you Tony Stark. I saw the future, and the only way we win is with you." His form is starting to disintegrate.

"The moon does not simply disappear when we are not looking at it." And then he is gone.


	18. Chapter 18

Tony stares at the wall for a while, trying to figure out what that was. What did he know? Peter was probably happy, living with his aunt and uncle in another dimension. That was good. Strange had told him that he saw the future. A future where Tony saved the world.

Tony needs some time to process what was just said to him, so he rests his hands in his face and sighs.

"I have to go back," Tony says to Wong, "Well call you if we need you."

Wong just nods and leads Tony to the door. The warm August sun shines down on him as he walks back to his ship. He keeps his sunglasses as a disguise low and watches the busy civilians from afar.

On the ride back to Wakanda, he ponders Strange's words some more.

"The moon does not simply disappear when we are not looking at it," he had said. Tony knew this to be an Albert Einstein quote. What could it mean? Was he referring to the people that were lost, that they were still there in our hearts or some cliche like that? Was it a hint to defeating Thanos? Or was it something completely different that he was missing.

Wakanda is particularly hot in the summer months. The African sun beats harshly on the country and its people. He is greeted kindly by everyone he passes as he makes his way to the common room. Everyone is sitting there around a small table talking except Steve.

"Where is Steve?" Tony asks, wanting everyone to be there when he talks about what he has learned.

"On the edge of the farmlands in the white wolf's old home," Shuri says, not glancing up from the file on the table.

So Tony walks outside again, into the blistering heat of Wakanda. He enjoys the walk, sucking in deep breaths of the summer air. The cottage is small. It has a thatch roof and stone walls. Why would Bucky have lived on the outskirts of Wakanda?

Tony gently pushes open the door, "Steve?" he says into the room. There is no answer so he travels out of the hut and to the back. There Steve is, feeding some goats in a pasture.

"Are you a goat herder now?" Tony asks, hands in his pockets.

"Tony," he seems flustered, his eyes are glazed over and red. "These goats were Bucky's, he would have wanted them to be taken care of." He pats the head of a white goat near his ankle.

"Farming suits you," Tony laughs. "Is this where you come in your free time?"

"No free time when your training to save the world," he wipes his hands in a water bucket and dries them off on his pants.

Tony isn't stupid, this is classic deflection, but what is he to say. It is rather embarrassing to be caught tending goats a majority of the time.

"Come on, Steve, team meeting I got some new info when I was in New York."

"You were in New York?" Steve asks, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Yes, it's Peter's birthday today and I went to see his aunt."

At the mention of Peter, Steve's attention shifts from cleaning himself off and directly to Tony.

"I'm sorry Tony, I guess I have had a lot on my mind lately." He glances toward the hut.

"It's all right, I know you miss your friend." Steve gives a small smirk and quick nod at this, but his eyes don't seem so upbeat. They are full of something Tony cannot place.

So they walk to the meeting room in a comfortable silence and when they arrive, Tony sits at the head of the table and tells them about Strange.

"What could that mean?" Rhodey asks.

"It could mean anything, it could be literal, figurative we don't know," Nat says.

There is some chatter about what it all means, but there is a quiet from Tony's right. Steve hasn't said a word.

"Steve, what do you think?" Tony asks.

Steve looks like a kid caught daydreaming in class when his name is said, his eyes are filled with both fear and desperation.

"Steve you ok, bud?" Tony asks, placing a hand on Steve's arm. He wipes his nose and drums his fingers on the table for a moment.

"He said the people that died could be experiencing forgotten memories?" Steve asks in a small voice.

"That's what he said." Steve just nods at this. He gets up from the table, a hand over his heart and heads to his bedroom, grabbing his sketchbook from the table on his way out.

Just wanted to say thank you to ElectricRaven because hey, your comment made my day, so why not thank you for it 3 Thank you to everyone else's comments as well, I fixed the spelling of Rhodey, so that's good. Ok sorry for this but I had to say it. This is just the beginning of the tension, so be prepared ;)


	19. Chapter 19

It's revealing time ;)

"What is up with him," Clint says. These are the first words Tony has heard him speak. Everyone shrugs and so they continue their discussion.

Thor, who is usually rather quiet, suddenly is on his feet and calling for Stormbreaker.

"What the hell is going on Thor," Bruce exclaims, getting up from his chair.

"The Bifrost," He says, pointing outside. That's when Tony sees it. A huge blue current rips through the air and lands on the ground. From where they are, they can see two large figures.

The Avengers suit up in record time, approaching the two creatures from afar. When they get close enough, Tony can see that their skin is light blue.

"Frost Giants," Thor mumbles.

"I will defend this earth from you," Thor says, brandishing his ax. "This planet is not up for conquest."

"You, Asgardian, have no idea why we are here." The one on the right says casually while the one on the left looks over his left shoulder and nods.

"Do you plan on telling us?" Thor is angry, lightning crackling from his fingers.

Suddenly the two giants are pushed apart. A figure steps out from between them, a mischievous grin, long black hair, and trademark green cape.

"I would have thought you would be happier to see me, brother," Loki says, walking towards him.

"Loki?" Thor asks, flustered. "How did you survive brother?"

"After all the years we have known each other, you should have known that I am right handed." His eyes are twinkling with mischief

At this Thor laughs, barreling towards his brother and dropping his ax on the grass. He grips Loki in a hug so tight, Tony thinks Loki might break. If gods do that sort of thing.

"I love you, brother," Thor says.

"And I, you," Loki responds.

"Well this was a nice family reunion and all but last time we saw you, you were trying to take over New York," Tony says, lowering his ironman mask.

"My brother has changed his ways," Thor says, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I must show you something, brother," Loki says to Thor with a smile. "Come, Avengers," Loki starts walking toward the frost giants again.

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Natasha says.

"You don't."

For some reason, they all go with him anyway. The Bifrost pulls and twists them, sending them through space like a rocket. They arrive on a cold planet. Ice surrounds them in whipping wind, and Tony can feel the rather extreme change from Wakandan sun to -15.

They follow Loki through two big black gates. As they walk past, the frost giants nod to Loki and pound their hands on their chests.

"Brother," Thor says nervously, "what have you done?"

Loki smiles, "I am the rightful king of Jotunheimen."

"Loki, you must be joking." Thor stops him.

"No brother, I am not. This is what father wanted, is it not? To bridge our two civilizations in peace. I was his asset, an asset in peace."

"So you are the king of Jotunheimen?" Thor asks, still looking confused.

"No," Loki says, "I refused." He kicks an ice chunk.

Thor freezes in his spot. "You what?"

"I think that being king would not suit me, brother, you have seen what the throne has done to me in the past."

Everyone is taken back by this statement. Tony cannot say he ever expected Loki to turn down royalty.

"Besides," Loki says, pushing open a large wooden door, "We have another kingdom to rule over brother."

They are looking over a synthetic looking valley of warm grass and small cottages. People walk along the streets laughing.

"Val!" Loki calls out over the town. A woman turns around. She wears a silver uniform and a blue cape. She groans when she sees him and slowly makes her way over.

"Valkyrie!" Thor exclaims, "You have survived!" He approaches her and seems like he is going to hug her, but she draws out a knife and pokes his chest.

"No hugs, dufus," She says. Tony likes her.

"Who are these clowns," she gestures her blade toward the Avengers.

"These are my friends," Bruce says from behind Tony. "Hello, Val."

"Bruce!" She says happily, hugging him.

"I see how it is," Thor laughs and Loki joins in.

"Attention everyone!" Loki shouts to the city, "Thor, king of Asgard." He holds his brother's hand in the air.

All of Asgard comes forward and kneels before Thor.

"Rise, my good people," Thor's voice booms over the crowd, "for Asgard is a people, not a place. We will find a new home on Midgard with these Midgardians." He gestures toward the Avengers.

"Let us celebrate the return of our king!" Loki says.

There is a woop in the crowd as the people of Asgard head toward a large area with tables already set up.

"Brother, how did you save them?" Thor says to Loki as they sit down.

"All that time you spent searching for the infinity stone I was organizing a safe place for our people in Jotunheim. When I touch the tesseract, I can see the future. I saw the rise of Hela and the slaughter of our people so I spent a great deal of time secretly transporting some here."

"I always knew there was good in you, brother," Thor says, slapping Loki on the back.

Tony reaches for the mug of mead, this being the first alcohol he has had in a while, he is extremely excited. His hand is slapped by the man beside him.

"No, Tony," Steve says in a stern tone. Tony isn't even sure how when he got there. He was being awfully quiet.

"Steve I want to celebrate!" He tries to grab for it again but Steve grabs his hand again.

"No."

"Mother hen," Tony growls as he starts to shovel pork into his mouth.


	20. Chapter 20

They head back to earth, everyone besides Tony and Steve completely hammered. Bruce has decided to stay and help Thor rebuild the people of Asgard for a while longer, he says he will return in a few days.

Even though it has been a few months since the first time Steve dragged Tony to bed, Steve still sits with him. Tonight though, he seems on edge. Something is bothering him, Tony is sure of it. He doesn't know if should pry, but he does it anyway.

"Are you ok, Steve?" He asks while he climbs into the bed.

"Fine," his tone tells Tony he does not wish to discuss this.

"I know that's not true."

Steve holds his face in his hand for a few moments. "If the people who disintegrated really are reliving old memories." He sighs, "I am concerned about Bucky."

Tony understands, Steve hopes Bucky isn't reliving what he did in hydra.

"I'm sure he is living a happy memory, not one of him working for Hydra," Tony says, trying to sound reassuring.

Steve looks puzzled at what Tony said for a moment. His eyebrows raise and his gaze goes down.

"That is what you are worried he is remembering, right?" Tony asks cautiously.

Steve looks to his left, "Yes." He says with finality.

"I don't believe you."

Steve looks flustered again, "You don't think I'm worried about him reliving killing hundreds of people?"

Deflection.

"Of course I do Steve but-"

"There is no but, Tony." He stands from his chair and grabs his sketchbook. Tony can see briefly see he was looking at the July 4th picture.

"I think you can handle yourself now," He says, opening and closing the door.

The room feels empty when he leaves. Tony would never admit he enjoyed not being alone. He lay awake for hours, unable to fall asleep. He was thinking about why Steve wouldn't answer a simple question. Maybe he was worrying that Bucky was remembering something else about his past. Something about the 40's.

No, Steve would want Bucky to remember everything from their time as kids so he would be the Bucky Steve remembered. What could have happened in their past Steve didn't want Bucky to remember?

Tony was still confused and unable to sleep. He gave up at 3 am and decided to go down to his lab. When he walked by the living room, he heard a voice. Curious, he pressed his ear gently against the wall.

"It's not that I don't want you to remember," Steve's voice came through the wall.

"I want you to remember everything, but I don't want, well I just-" He sounded desperate and sad. His voice was wavering. Tony peeked around the corner to see Steve holding something in his hands, Bucky's necklace, he presumed.

"I don't want you to hate me," Tony heard a feeble cry from him and decided this was far too personal a conversation for him to be listening in on.

Tony made his way to the lab, unsure of what he was going to do now that Vision was back to normal. He looked around and it came to him. He was going to make Steve a better suit.

Reunions come.

Patience ;)


	21. Chapter 21

Tony drafts a plan for the new suit. The best form of protection on animals is scaling. They create an impenetrable wall that protects the creature it is on.

That's a start.

Steve is Captain America, so Tony decides he wants to keep "the look". After a few hours of designing and waiting for the machine to sew together the vibranium thread, Tony holds up the uniform to admire his work. The suit looks like his old one did, but it feels stronger. The best part is what's on the floor next to it.

He had it shipped to Wakanda on priority one and here it was, the shining symbol of America.

Caps shield.

Tony had taken it from him, told him he didn't deserve it and stored it in a secure part of SI. It looked slightly battered, sure, but Tony felt it wouldn't be right to make a new one. It was almost a metaphor, Tony handing Steve his shield like his father once did nearly a century ago. It was the only thing he had yet to give back to Steve, and he felt this was a good a time as any.

Tony placed the shield and uniform in a box and left the lab. What he was not expecting was the common room to be empty and black as the night. Tony had neglected to check the time, and now that he did, he discovered it was 3 am. He didn't want to wait, so he sought Steve out, first check his bedroom.

Empty.

He proceeded to check the gym, hospital wing, and just about everywhere in the building. There was only one place he had not checked, and Tony knew that was where he was. Maybe he knew that the whole time.

He knocked lightly on the farm hut's door and received no answer. He pushed the door slightly open and could see the lump under blankets on the bed. Steve was sleeping. His face was in the pillow and he was clutching something Tony couldn't see.

"Steve," he said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

His eyes barely fluttered open, "Buck?" he said confused.

Tony felt a lump in his throat, "No Steve, it's me, it's Tony," he sighed, sitting on the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, sitting up.

"I wanted to give you something," he says, reaching for the box.

"Tony, it's 3 am," he rubs his face. Tony glances down to see what Steve is holding so close to him and Tony's heart drops because it is a shirt. It's Bucky's shirt.

Tony swallows, coughs, and sniffs, "I didn't want to wait. Open it."

Steve pulls the box toward him and opens it. He gapes at the uniform, holding it up and feeling the material.

"Tony this is amazing," he says, lifting a corner of the fabric to see the scales.

"Look inside again," Tony urges, receiving a confused look from Steve.

He stares into the box and Tony can see his eyes glistening. He picks up the shield gently, but he knows it through and through, how to hold it and how not to. He runs his hand over the star with the scratch running through it.

"Steve, I don't know if you should ever forgive me for what I did, god knows I'm worthy of no one's forgiveness," he gestures up, "But I was wrong, it wasn't Bucky that killed my parents it was the Winter Soldier. As far as I'm concerned, they are not the same person. This one, this is your Bucky." He gives Steve a weak smile. His eyes are glistening and he coughs to clear his throat.

"Thank you, Tony," He smiles.

"Let's go up to the facility, yeah? I don't fancy sleeping in a gross farmhouse."

Steve chuckles and allows Tony to pull him from the bed, tossing Bucky's shirt back on the sheets. They walk in silence to Steve's bedroom, and this time, Tony tell Steve to sleep on the bed.

"Tony, I'm fine in the chair, really," he smiles.

"Nope, in bed soldier," Tony mocks, pushing Steve toward the bed. Steve must have been exhausted because before Tony can even get comfortable in the chair, he can hear light snores from the bed. He chuckles a little and closes his eyes, allowing a memory to come back to him.

"Pepper," he says while they sit on the couch watching It's a Wonderful Life. "What should I get Peter for Christmas?" he takes a small sip of his hot chocolate.

"What would he like?" She replies, pausing the movie.

"How about one of those giant bunnies I gave you," he says, nuzzling her neck.

"Tony that won't fit in his bedroom," she chuckles.

"It could fit in a room at the compound." She looks at him in wonder.

"Tony, you're giving him a bedroom in the compound?"

"Yeah," he says because of course, Peter is getting a bedroom at the Avenger's facility.

"He's just a kid Tony," she says, swiping a stray piece of hair from his face.

"He's a pretty amazing kid," Tony says with a chuckle.

"You care a lot about him, don't you," Her voice is soft.

"What gives you that idea?" he jokes because she can see right through him.

She makes a hm sound and before pressing play on the remote again, says "get him something personal, something to remind him of both of you together."

Tony gave him, among many other things, a vibranium picture frame painted to look like a combination of Ironman and spiderman with a picture of the two of them together.

Peter actually cried that day. He fell asleep on Tony that night.

"Sir," FRIDAY's voice came from his watch.

"What's up Fri?" He says quietly, standing to go into the hall as to not wake Steve.

"I have a call coming in from Tennessee sir," she says, sounding slightly confused for a robot.

"Who the hell got my number from Tennessee?" He scratches his head and paces down the hallway.

"Should I put him through?" FRIDAY asks him.

"Sure," he says and clears his throat.

"This is Tony Stark," he says in a calm voice.

"Tony?" says a small voice from the phone.

"Who is this?"

"Tony, it's, it's Harley."


	22. Chapter 22

"Harley?" Tony says, half relieved half panicked. "What's wrong, kiddo?"

"My Mom's been gone for a long time- I didn't want to call you because I didn't want you to worry or anything but the newspaper says people disappeared and I don't know what to do." He sounds frightened.

God, how far off the grid did this kid live?

"Kid are you home?" he says, automatically pushing the nanotech on his suit.

"Yeah, I'm in the shop."

"See you kid," he says, hanging up the phone before he can respond.

"FRIDAY, you know where to take me," he says to his AI.

"Yes, sir."

Tony allows soundproof barrier and comfortable padding to ease him into a gentle sleep for his long journey to Tennessee.

He wakes from his dreamless sleep in front of Harley's garage.

"How long was that?" He asks FRIDAY, deactivating his suit.

"5 hours, sir."

"Just tell Steve and the others I had some things to do." He says, opening up the door.

"Tony?" Harley says, looking up from something on the work table.

"Hey, kid," he walks closer to Harley.

"You didn't have to come I was fine on my own."

"Oh yeah, when's the last time you paid the bill?"

"Well-"

"Or bought food from the grocery store,"

"Actually I-"

"Or did the laundry." Tony looks him in the eye. "Harley, something bad has happened and your other is not going to come back for a while."

"What happened?"

So Tony tells him everything.

"You got stabbed by a purple grape?" is the first thing Harley says, trying to withhold a laugh.

"That was a very serious and upsetting story and you make a joke?" Tony says, reassessing his decision to come here.

"You don't have to be such a pussy about it," Harley mocks, his mouth breaking into a massive grin.

"I shouldn't have come here in the first place," Tony says, starting to walk to the door.

"Wait, Tony, I didn't mean it," Harley says, grabbing his arm. Tony would never actually be able to leave him here alone without anything.

"I know," he says getting on one knee and grabbing Harley's shoulder. "We are going to get them back. We are working very hard on a plan," which he had no leads on. "Let's stock you up on food and supplies and make sure the bills are paid so you don't run out of power huh?"

So he and Harley spend a good portion of the day shopping, paying bills, and eventually tinkering in Harley's shop until the sun sets.

"I got to go, kiddo," Tony says, ruffling Harley's hair and it almost scares him because that's what he did with Peter. "Don't do anything stupid!" He says, walking into the backyard and taking off once more.


	23. Chapter 23

**This is it. How we beat** Thanos.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rhodey asks him when he enters the facility at 10 AM the next day, full of energy from sleeping in the suit.

"Went to go check on someone," He says, grabbing an apple from the table and taking a bite.

"Tony, we are in bad times right now, you cannot just leave!"

"Rhodes, calm down." Tony pats Rhodey's shoulder before heading to the common room.

The rest of the team is there, all of them, and so Tony sits on a nearby chair and joins in on whatever they are watching.

"You're watching Friends?" Tony says, snorting, but watches anyway because he could really use a distraction at the moment. They sit there for a while, tuning their brains out from the world around them and then Tony hears a voice from down the hallway.

"I need to see them!" He hears a man's voice say.

"Sir, you must have permission to-"

"Get Steve Rogers here and I'll get permission," he hears the voice say.

"Steve," Shuri's voice comes from the hallway, "someone wants to see you!"

Steve gets up while saying, "Who is it?"

"Scott Lang!" The man shouts from the hallway.

"Scott?" Steve says, a confused look on his face.

"That's my Dad's name, sir," and then a man comes in the room. He looks familiar, and he has a girl around his hip.

"Scott, how have you been?" Steve asks.

"Terrible! I was stuck for, like, five months in a place I didn't know how to get out of!" he is panting. "Luckily, Cassie eventually found where I was and call my friend Luis to get me out."

"I feel like I know you from somewhere," Tony says, gesturing his hand nonchalantly to the man.

Scott looks embarrassed, "I'm Ant-Man, Mr. Stark, sir," he says, sticking out his hand for Tony to shake.

"The one who tore up my suit?" Tony asks, giving Scott a curious look.

"Daddy says he tore the wires from your suit and you couldn't do anything about it!" The girl on his hip says to Tony, a smile on her face.

"Cassie! I'm sorry Mr. Sta-"

"Tony," he interrupts.

"It's nice to meet your Scott," he shakes his hand and then looks to Cassie. "I like you kid, you've got spunk." he winks at her.

"What was so important you had to come barging into the middle of Wakanda to speak to us?"

"Right," Scott says, shaking his head. "Cassie, can you leave Daddy to do something for a while?"

"What should I do?" She asks, tilting her head.

"She can check out the workshop for a while, I'll have someone watch her," Tony says.

Soon enough they are all sitting around the conference table, waiting for Scott to explain himself.

"When we saved my friend's mother from the quantum realm," he says rapidly.

"Quantum realm?" Tony asks, "My father worked on that with Hank Pym, the old man never told him anything," he scoffs, "How do you know about the quantum realm?"

"From, uh, from Hank Pym," he rubs the back of his neck.

"So Hank trusted an ex-convict over Howard Stark?"

"Yeah, I guess." Scott looks uncomfortable.

"Proceed," Tony adds.

"Right, so Hank wanted to get a smaller quantum tunnel, which allows us to travel to the subatomic, so we put it in a van and decided to test it." He takes a sip of the water in front of him.

"So I went in, and then when I tried to get out, they were gone. I waited and waited, calling for them to let me out, but I knew something was wrong. Finally, hours later, Luis came and let me out with the help from Cassie. For me, it had felt like hours, but it had actually been five months."

The Avengers look confused at this.

"Time passes differently in the quantum realm," Scott clarifies, "If you get trapped in a time vortex, you could even get sent into the past." he forces a nervous laugh and runs his hand through his hair. "I searched for you guys. Cassie's mother and step-father," he swallows, "They're gone. So here I am."

Tony's mind is turning in thought. Time, the passage of time. And then it clicks.

 _Time Travel_

It makes sense. If they could go back in time and get a duplicate copy of all six infinity stones and make their own gauntlet, they could kill Thanos, and save everyone. "The moon does not simply disappear when we are not looking at it." It made sense. Stephan had the time stone, it was always there, the solution, he just wasn't looking the right way.

"Time travel." Tony murmurs, looking at Bruce, who had just recently gotten back from Jotunheim. "That's how we do it."

"Tony, that's risky."

"It's worth the risk, don't you think?" Tony says, standing up.

"I for one, am willing to die to get them back." He is excited now. "I lost everything, and so did most of you."

The Avengers are nodding. "Where is the quantum tunnel?" he looks at Scott.

"In the van."

"That's a start," Tony says.

"There are six infinity stones," Rockett says, "Space, reality, mind, soul, time, and power. If we can go back to each point in time and retrieve a duplicate set, we can stop Thanos."

"Where is the first one?" Natasha asks.

"The 1940's with the red skull," Steve says, "In the tesseract."

"The space stone," Nebula says.

"Steve and I can get that one," Tony adds.

"Nebula and I know where to get the power stone," Rockett says. "We know where it is."

"Loki and I can get the real stone, we know where that is," Thor says because he and Loki came back with Bruce. "Jane had a problem with it a few years ago."

"The mind stone," Bruce sounds worried. "Loki's scepter."

They all know where to get that. A place none of them want to return to.

"The battle of New York," Clint says.

There is silence for a moment. All of them have significant issues from that battle.

"All of us will work together to get that one," Scott says, trying to be helpful. There is a unanimous nod.

"Steve and I can get the time stone from Strange," Tony says because he knows he has to be the one to get it from Strange.

"You already have a stone to get," Rhodey nervously mentions.

"What can I say, I'm an overachiever."

"That leaves one more," Nebula says dreadfully. "The soul stone."

"How do we get that one?" Tony asks.

"To get the soul stone, one must sacrifice that of which they love."

There is dead silence.

"Everyone we love is already dead," Clint says.

"No, they're not," all eyes are on Bruce. "Nat, I know we had a fight, but I never told you what got me out of the Hulk," he swallows, "it was you, your voice alone was enough to bring me back."

"Bruce, we can't-"

"No, Nat, you have to do this." he looks nervous.

"Bruce, I- I love you too, and I won't do this."

"Nat," he gets up from his chair and holds her hand. "We have to."

"It's a plan then," Tony says, trying not to make his voice crack. "Shuri, Bruce, Scott and I will work on making a vibranium gauntlet and the quantum tunnel."

Everyone nods, looking slightly teary eyed.


	24. Chapter 24

Tony figures he simply does not need sleep because he is running on adrenaline. The four of them work around the clock. The gauntlet is easy to make. A simple glove with six slots.

The quantum tunnel is another story. In order for it to work as a time travel machine, work must be done inside the quantum realm. Scott finds ways to push together a time vortex, but it's highly unpredictable.

The machine is calibrated not to shrink, but to change the time one lives in. By the time it is testing day, everyone is exhausted and ready for it all to be over with.

The Avengers gather around a desk which is behind a glass panel protecting them if something goes wrong. Scott is going through first, scheduled to go only minutes into the past.

"You ready Scott?" Tony asks. He gives a thumbs up. Cassie smiles at him from Rhodey's back, which she is currently riding like a horse.

Shuri hits a switch and the machine starts to whir, particles of orange and blue coming from the tunnel.

"It's working," Bruce says in wonder.

"Turn it up," Tony commands Shuri. She complies, and that's when things go wrong.

"Tony," he hears a weak voice from Bruce. He falls onto the floor and starts violently convulsing, streaks of green traveling up his neck and head.

"Turn it off!" Tony yells at Shuri in panic, falling to his knees beside Bruce. "Bruce, buddy, your ok."

Shuri runs over and starts reading his vital signs while he still shakes on the floor. His eyes are turning a mix of his normal color and green. They are completely helpless and there is nothing they can do but try and calm Bruce down as he turns into the Hulk.

They step away because now there is a Hulk lying helpless on the floor.

"Hulk, my friend," Thor says, stepping toward him and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Are you well?"

Tony can see Hulk's eyes open. Normally, when Bruce is Hulk, his eyes are emerald green, but this time they are his normal eye color. Hulk looks extremely disoriented. He looks down at his hands and body in bewilderment. He looks at Tony.

"Tony?" He says, but it's not Hulk's voice at all.

It's Bruce's.

Ps. I can not promise everyones survival...


	25. Chapter 25

Note: I'm sorry in advance.

"Bruce?"

"This is what I look like as the Hulk?" he laughs, standing up. "You're so tiny!"

"Take it easy Bruce," Tony says, backing away.

"This is amazing, how did it happen?" Bruce asks, looking at his hands.

"The exposure to quantum particles fused together Hulk and Bruce," Shuri says, "Can you turn back?"

Bruce's eyes close hut in focus, and there he is, Bruce Banner on the floor in ripped clothes.

"Well, professor Hulk," Tony jokes, "I think you are overdue for a costume change."

Nat helps Bruce stand up and leads him away.

"I think that's enough for today," Steve says, patting Tony's shoulder.

"You ok Scott?" Tony asks the man who looks to be in shock across from him.

"That was the weirdest thing I have ever seen," he says, blinking. Tony laughs.

It does not take much to make Bruce a suit. He makes it simply because he doesn't need much armor as Hulk. He simply makes a strong a stretchy sleek looking spandex suit that can drastically grow and shrink without tearing.

He folds up the uniform and places it on a desk.

"Tony, go to bed," Steve says from across the hall.

For once in his life, he was actually planning on doing that anyway. "Aye, Aye cap," he says, striding to his own bedroom this time.

The room is sterile and lonely. Steve's room had pictures and a homey scent to it because he had been living in it for so long. It was basically their bedroom at this point. But here Tony was, stripping his clothes off and stepping into the shower.

He cleans himself off and stumbles over to his neatly made bed in exhaustion. The sheets are stiff and rough, but he falls asleep easily anyway.

He gets to work right away, the next day and the next. They work and work and work. Testing different formulas and time zones to get it perfect, and then they do.

Scott successfully comes back from 1990 with a pair of roller skates and a blockbuster movie.

"Scott, we left you for ten minutes," Tony says, annoyed.

"I wanted to have fun."

The plan is they all leave to their designated time zones at 8 am, so naturally Tony is up at 3. He sits in his room in front of a laptop because there are a few things he has to do before he can leave.

He goes to the bathroom and does his hair in the best possible way. He washes his face and practices his smile in the mirror before returning to his chair. He looks at the camera on the laptop one more time.

"Start recording Fri," he says, taking a deep breath.

"Hey Pep," he swallows, "If you're watching this, it means I didn't make it. Don't be too sad, please, I mean, you deserve someone much better than me anyway," he smiles at the camera. "I know you're pregnant, Pep. I don't know what we are having, but whatever it is, I hope they are just like you. Brave, beautiful, smart. You deserve so much more than 12% of the credit baby."

He brushed his hand across his nose. "I love you so much, so, so much. I need you to promise me something. Promise me you will watch over Peter. He has lost so much already, and even though I don't matter all that much to him, he meant a lot to me, so make sure he is a part of our kid's life."

He can feel his eyes tearing up, "I love you so much Pepper," he places his hand on the camera for a moment, "You were right, the bunny was a stupid present."

He swallows and forces out a broken laugh, "Goodbye, sweetheart."

"FRIDAY, end the recording." he goes to the bathroom again, washing his face and trying to look like he wasn't crying.

"Two more," he says to his reflection before making his way back to the laptop. Preparing himself once more, he tells FRIDAY to start another recording.

"Hey kiddo," he says with as much gusto as he can muster, "How is school? What's your favorite class, is it science? Mine too. If it's not your favorite, that's ok too, I just want you to be happy. I'm sorry I can't be their honey, I hope you know I would if I could have been." He has to fight back the tears again.

"I didn't even get to meet you, but I already know I love you so very much." He gives a meaningful smile to the camera.

"I hope you know Peter, if you don't, ask your mom about him for me. Tell him I miss him." He inhales sharply, "I want you to picture something for me, picture me coming over there, through the screen and hugging you." He gives the camera an awkward hug. "Your grandfather, he never did that. He never hugged me, I'm sure he would have loved you, though." Tony isn't sure if that's the truth or not.

"Listen, kid, I know it's hard, but you are a Stark, and Starks can power through anything."

He doesn't try and stop the tear rolling down his cheek this time.

"I love you kid, so very much." he blows a kiss and ends the recording. He lets himself cry this time, the tears flow from him because he wants so badly to be a part of his child's life. Tony genuinely isn't sure if he will be able to record the last video, but he takes a full-on shower this time in preparation and sits in the chair once more.

"Hey, Peter."


	26. Chapter 26

"You ready, Tony?" Steve asks, dressed in his new uniform.

"Let's do it," Tony says, walking toward the quantum tunnel.

"Remember, Tony, you have three days to retrieve the space stone," Bruce says as they enter to the tunnel.

"Good luck Bruce," Tony says, giving him a tight hug and letting a tear fall from his eye before entering the tunnel.

They arrive in the middle of the woods.

"Uh Steve," he says, "is this where we are supposed to be?"

"Yes, the Hydra base is just over that hill," he responds, looking at his map.

Tony grabs Steve's shoulders and takes off, pulling him through the air and stopping in front of a window in the base. Steve lurches his feet forward and the glass shatters, both of them tumbling into the room.

It is empty and clean, old computers and tools are on the tables. It is very quiet, too quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Tony asks quietly.

"They're here," Steve says, creeping out into the hallway. Steve makes a gesture that there are two guards in the hallway. He draws his shield near and Tony his blaster as they creep into the hallway.

"Wer bist du?" one of the guards says before Steve hits him with his shield and the other one is taken down before he can call for help.

"Do you know where the tesseract is?" Tony says anxiously.

"This way,"

"Eindringlinge im Compund! Eindringlinge im Compund!" The soldiers are able to yell before being swiftly eradicated.

They bust through hallway after hallway, searching for the red skull.

"This is the door," Steve whispers as they both prepare to jump into the room.

The door flies open and Steve is throwing his shield.

"Who might this intruder be?" A tall man says in perfect English, not looking at Steve or Tony.

"We need something," Steve says, "and we are going to get it."

"Are you sure about zat?" he says with a raised eyebrow. "I know what you seek, and you shall not have the pleasure of gaining it."

He fires a gun at Steve, to which Steve deflects with his shield.

"FRIDAY, run a scan for the tesseract," he says while shooting at the man.

"In the floor sir, under a panel. It seems there is a hidden compartment."

He blasts open the panel without difficulty and sees the blue glowing cube. "I've got it, Steve!" He says, reaching down to change his time zone once again to go to their base camp in New York.

With the tesseract in hand, they both stumble toward an alley where they can change their clothes. They hide everything in a backpack and Tony and Steve are both dressed in khaki pants, baggy white collar shirts, and suspenders.

"I want to show you something," Steve says, pulling Tony into the streets of 1940's New York.

"Tony doesn't argue, instead he follows Steve blindly, weaving through small alleyways and streets. Tony can tell Steve knows these roads like the back of his hand. He can see Steve radiating happiness and Tony can finally see that this was the time Steve Rogers was supposed to be in.

After what seems like hours of walking, Steve makes a dead stop at a small building that Tony can hear music coming from inside.

"What is this place, Steve?" Tony asks curiously.

"It's a dancehall," Steve murmurs, pulling Tony to the doorway.

As soon as the door opens, Tony is overwhelmed by the intense, thick cigarette smoke. He coughs.

"Jesus Steve, how did little asthmatic you survive in here?" Tony can barely breathe.

Steve stops and leans against a wall. "I didn't," he gestures to a small man sitting on a stool, coughing and drinking a beer that was still full.

"That's you?" Tony says in surprise. He had seen pictures of how small Steve used to be, but seeing it in person was another thing entirely. He looked rather sickly, his small arms and thin frame like that of a child's.

"Yes," Steve says vaguely, but Tony can see that his eyes are trained on someone else.

His hair is dark brown and in a military style cut. He dances with a woman with a painfully large smile on his face. His eyes are brown and full of happiness and youth.

Tony recognizes the boy from Steve's drawing because this is exactly what they looked like. It was Bucky.

Steve is utterly entranced, his hands in his pockets, mouth slightly open in shock, and his eyes are electric in a way Tony has never seen them before.

They stand there for a long time, Tony thinks at least half an hour, watching Bucky sway gently to the music and constantly check over his shoulder at Steve, who is still sitting at the bar, his beer untouched.

"Let's go," Steve finally says, "There is one more place."

So Tony is lead once again through winding streets and alleys until they are standing in front of a rather broken down, crappy looking apartment building.

Steve leads him wordlessly up the stairs, his hand running over the railing with nostalgia written all over his tight-knit eyebrows.

"How are we going to get in?" Tony asks.

Steve doesn't reply, just kicks a brick and picks up the key under it. He stares at it for a moment before gently placing it in the door and twisting the knob.

The apartment is small, so incredibly small it barely fits the small, worn and torn couch that has a coffee table in front of it. There is a few books scattered on the table and an empty mug or two. The kitchen isn't much bigger, the small fridge is tucked into the corner and the stove barely fits the pasta pot and pan sitting on it. The apartment smells of rosemary, boiled cabbage, and hair gel.

Tony watches as Steve looks all around, holding pictures and touching objects. Tony heads to one of the other doors of the apartment and is confronted by the smallest bathroom he has ever seen. An old looking bathtub sits in the corner, a bar of soap sitting in the corner. Tony smells it and laughs because it's exactly what Steve's pillow smelt like. Somehow, he had managed to keep the cheap soap smell in his hair.

He sees an open jar of hair gel on the sink and a dirty looking mirror for shaving.

He leaves the bathroom, intending to head into the other room and sees Steve. His back is to Tony, his eyes staring into the bedroom. He almost looks afraid to go in, Tony can see the hesitancy as he takes a step forward.

"One bed," Tony says, glancing at the twin size mattress in between two windows.

"We couldn't afford two beds, Tony," he sighs, "I slept in the bed and Buck slept on the couch."

"Bucky seems a little big for the couch," Tony says summing up Bucky's height versus the couch's.

"He made me sleep in the bed," he says, and Toy honestly cannot read his expression.

They look around for a few more minutes.

"Can I have a minute, Tony?" He asks in a pleading and broken voice.

"Sure, yeah," he says, leaving the bedroom, shutting the door and sitting on the couch.

Tony gives Steve ample time, at least half an hour, and when Tony is about to go get him, Steve steps out of the bedroom, his eyes so incredibly sad and red.

"Let's go," he says not even trying to fake a smile.


	27. Chapter 27

They sleep in the woods in tents, the rain silently pittering over them as they sleep. Tony pretends not to hear Steve's silent cries as he falls asleep.

They travel forward in time to 2015 and make their Journey to Bleeker street.

They don't even have to knock, because a person is already at the door.

"Wong?" Tony says because the man looks like a younger version of him

"Yes, now come, the ancient one wishes to see you," he says, leading them to a large and open room with light streaming through the windows.

"Are you the main wizard?" Tony asks the bald person facing the window.

"You can say that," the person turns around and Tony is taken back because it was a woman, he was not expecting that from a bald head.

"I know why you have come," her voice is soft and full of wisdom, "You need not explain."

She reaches into her pocket and hands them the necklace that Stephan used to wear.

"The fate of the universe depends on you, Tony Stark, do not disappoint it," her hands are clasped behind her back. "Go, now."

"Thank you," Steve says from next to him, and with a tap on their bracelets, they are back in Wakanda.

"We have the stones," Tony says to Shuri, who is standing in front of the vibranium infinity gauntlet, which already has the power and reality stones inside it.

Thor, Rockett, Nebula, Rhodey, Clint, Vision, Scott and Loki are all nervously sitting on the couch, tapping their hands on the table.

"Where are Nat and Bruce?" Tony asks, already knowing the answer.

"They're not here yet," Thor says in a worried tone.

Tony and Steve join them on the sofa.

"Thanos will have figured out what we are doing soon," Loki says, breaking the silence, "He will surely be there to fight at the battle of New York."

Everyone takes that in for a moment because he is right.

"We'll be there ready to fight him," Steve says.

They sit there for a long time before the quantum tunnel opens. Everyone is on their feet and standing next to it when Nat comes out, half carrying a very broken looking Bruce. She has tears down her face.

"Nat, what happened?" Steve says, helping carry Bruce as they head off to the medical bay.

She doesn't have to answer because she hands Shuri a small metal container containing the soul stone.

"I didn't to, he made me do it, push him off for the stone." her voice sounds weak under her usual confident tone. "I wasn't expecting him to come back up, but then he appeared on the stone," she swallows, "He was crying like a child saying Hulk."

"They took Hulk instead of Bruce," Rhodey says, receiving a nod from Nat.

"They had just worked things out," Tony says, trying not to let his emotions show.

The Avengers knew they had to get the final stone soon before Thanos figured out where they were and attacked, but they delayed as much as possible so Bruce had time to recover.

The had collectively decided Bruce would be fighting in the Hulkbuster armor since that was what he fought Thanos in the first time.

In the few days they spent in Wakanda, they held a funeral for Hulk. It was rather sad, a grave was placed under a tree and prayers were said by Steve, though no one really thought it meant anything. Bruce looked utterly broken, but he insisted they "finish off the bastard" so that's what Tony was preparing for.

It was 4 am and Tony was laying in Steve's bed once again. They were both so lonely and tired, they were both shamelessly laying there, Steve snoring gently beside him. Per Tony usual, he couldn't fall asleep, so he simply focused on Steve's breathing and tried not to think about what they were going to do in the morning. One more time, Tony let his mind drift to a memory.

 _It was Christmas morning._ _All the Avengers were still asleep except Tony, carols playing over the speakers and a tall Christmas tree standing in the corner._

 _Peter was the first to wake up after Tony, naturally, so the two of them sat alone on the couch._

" _I got you something, Mr. Stark," Peter said excitedly, grabbing for a small box under the tree that was wrapped in newspaper and a bow._

" _Thanks, kid," he said, slowly unwrapping the paper and opening the box to find a flash drive._

" _Play it," Peter reached over and grabbed his charging laptop._

 _Tony happily complied, sticking the spiderman flash drive into his computer._

" _Hey, Mr. Stark!" An excited Peter said on the screen, "Merry Christmas, I made this video of the two of us, I know kinda cheesy, but I hope you like it anyway!"_

 _The video switched to his alibi video for May, to footage of them working in the lab, to random little vlogs Peter had taken of them. Videos of them laughing, smiling, and even the two of them asleep on the couch together._

 _Tony couldn't believe Peter made this. His heart was full of pure joy, his blood rushing through his veins and he had to focus on not crying. When the video stopped, Tony was silent._

" _I'm sorry Mr. Stark," Peter said in a panicked voice, "I mean I get that you don't like it, it was weird and-"_

" _Peter for god's sake," he pulled Peter into a tight hug. The first hug he had ever given him actually that wasn't the result of either of them having a panic attack. "I love it."_

" _Merry Christmas, Mr. Stark," Peter mumbled from his shoulder. Tony ran a hand through Peter's hair and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Pete."_

Tony blinked the tears from his eyes, rolling his head into the pillow and falling into a peaceful sleep, the hope of getting Peter back warding off his nightmares.

Notes: Wow, guys, only one more chapter to go before the epilogue. It will be out tommorow. All I can say is, yes this is a fanfiction, but I am trying to keep it realistic for Avengers 4 so keep that in mind. Thank you all for being with me thorugh this, it's been a journey :).


	28. Chapter 28

Note: I was wrong before, there is one more chapter after this before the epilogue. Oh well, more story for you.

The Avengers all stood in the quantum tunnel, suited up for battle and confidence plastered on their faces.

"Honey," Scott says once more, giving Cassie a hug, "I love you so much, I'll be back soon ok? I'll be back and your Mom will be back."

"Ok, Dad," She says, pulling away. Cassie is a smart girl though, and Tony can see on her face she knows her father cannot promise that.

Shuri remains in the lab with the gauntlet, ready to come in and give the glove to them to reverse the snap.

"Let's do it," Steve says, and Tony takes in the Wakandan lab that had been his home for 7 months and they are sucked into 2012.

They are all in front of the original Avengers tower, roughly two hours before the battle breaks out. Tony goes first, not even hesitating to get use his old password to get through the door.

They all ignore the confused desk worker and head to the elevator, traveling to the conference floor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Tony says, dramatically opening the conference room door.

"What the hell," Younger Tony says, putting on his old armor.

"Calm down there buckaroo," Tony says, putting his hands up in peace.

"We are here to help," Steve steps forward.

"We're from the future," Nat says.

"The future?" Younger Bruce asks.

"Very bad dude came, killed a lot of people, and we need your help to stop him," Tony states in a serious tone.

"Suppose, you're telling the truth," Younger Steve says, "what can we do to help?"

"You fight the battle normally, and give us help when we need it."

"Well, future me," young Tony says, summing up his older counterpart, "You've gone grey."

"And you will when you see your so-," Tony almost says, son, but backtracks, "your friend die in your arms." He looks himself dead in the eye.

"Here is the battle plan," Steve interrupts, "you guys fight off the Chitauri while the rest of us fight Thanos and Thor and Loki try to convince your Loki to give over the scepter."

"Loki is a good guy now?" Young Clint asks, skeptically.

"I always knew you had it in you, brother," young Thor says, slapping Loki on the back.

They all board the jet, ready to fight. The flight to the portal site is short and silent.

When the plane lands, they slowly get off, the young Avengers standing in a circle as the portal opens above them. The older Avengers break apart to complete their tasks.

"Good luck, Thor," Steve says with a nod.

The Chitauri come through the portal in full force. Tony blasts them left and right, watching Steve's shield crash through them and Clint's arrows pierce their throats.

Tony is blasting a Chitauri when the all too familiar portal opens behind him.

"Stark," Thanos says, in full battle gear, "You don't know when to give up, do you?"

"Never planned on it, grape," Tony readies his laser guns.

It's Steve who charges first, his shield bounces harmlessly off of Thanos as he slams his head. All the Avengers are on him at once, not there to kill him yet, simply to delay him so Thor and Loki have time to retrieve the mind stone. Scott is small on Thanos' arm, trying to pull off the gauntlet. Vision is holding open his first so he can't close it.

Thanos breaks free from their grasps and uses the power stone to blast Vision across the street. Just then, younger Thor comes with Mjolnir. He wacks Thanos across the head and that disorients him. With a fit of rage, Thanos freezes Thor with the reality stone, letting the hammer clang to the road.

"Not this time," Tony watches in shock as Steve runs over to the hammer, grips his hand around the handle and bashes Thanos across the jaw with one swift swing.

 _Of course, Steve can wield Mjolnir. Tony doesn't even know why he thought otherwise._

They fight and fight, barely scratching Thanos, but managing to keep him distracted. Then out of the corner of his eye, Tony sees something tumbling to the planet.

"Steve, what the hell is that!" he shouts over the com.

"I don't know," he says with a grunt, punching a Chitauri.

Someone rises from the crash, a woman with blonde hair and a red and blue uniform.

"Who might you be?" Tony says, blasting a group of Chitauri.

"I'm Carol Danvers, and I am here from the distress call from Nick Fury. He said the earth was in danger."

"You could say that, especially since that was seven months ago," He bashes an alien with his nanobot shield.

"I was far away, the signal didn't come for a long time," She joins the fight against Thanos, summoning lightning and taking out a whole Chitauri ship.

"We could use your help, Carol," says Steve.

"Call me Captain Marvel," she says.

"Have it your way," Tony says with a huff.

That's when they hear Shuri behind them. "Stark!" Tony hears her voice from behind him and knows what it means. He breaks off the fight and flies toward Shuri, dressed in her own panther suit.

"Tony, it will kill you to use this, meer men are not meant to hold such power," her voice is pleading.

"I know," is all he says with a nervous swallow.

"It's been an honor, Tony," she says, her voice scratchy.

"Don't flatter me," he says in a mock sarcastic tone, giving her a look of reassurance before pulling it from her and flying over to Steve, who breaks from the fight so they can both stand behind a flipped car for a moment.

"Steve," his Ironman mask is off now and so is Steve's, "you were my father's greatest creation, he searched for you for years after you went in the ice. My room was plastered with your posters, and I was your biggest fan," Tony swallows. "It has been an honor to work with you and meet you, Steve, it truly has." He places a hand on Steve's shoulder.

"That's where you're wrong, Tony," he places his hand on Tony's other shoulder, "I'm not your father's greatest creation," he smiles a smile at Tony and pierces him with his blue eyes, "you are."

Tony just smiles at him. "Like I always said, Tony, we do this together." He squeezes Tony's shoulder.

Both of them press their hands in the gauntlet, Tony's left, and Steve's right. Their hands are on top of each other and Tony can immediately feel the surge of power.

"Holy shit," he says, gasping as the infinity stones power runs through him.

Steve gives him a giant smile and laughs, "language."

They walk out from behind the car and over to Thanos, hands in the gauntlet still.

"It's over Thanos," Steve says, "You've lost."

"I have a gauntlet too, and I am capable of wearing it," he says, raising his hand to snap his fingers, but before he can, Stormbreaker plows through his skull.

"I told you," present Thor says, screaming in Thanos' face, "You die for that!" He shoves the ax through Thanos's head with a crack.

"AUGHHHH," Thanos is able to say once more before toppling to the ground.

"Tony," Steve looks him dead in the eye, "It's time."

"Like the old man said," Tony musters up all the courage he can, "Together."

He feels their fingers move in unison, the metal brushes against each other and both of them are muttering the same words.

 _Bring them back._


	29. Chapter 29

Pre Notes: Grab the tissues and cuddle your puppies folks, because this is a rough one. A song I recommend listening to while reading this is "Saturn" by Sleeping at last.

White, hot, searing pain flows through Tony as he collapses on the ground. He can't even feel his hand, but he knows it must not be in good shape.

He tries to refocus his mind, but can already feel it slipping away.

Just rest for a few minutes. It tells him. Just a few minutes.

Tony almost does, but he knows deep inside if he does he won't wake up, so he shoves every ounce of energy he has left to open his eyes. His vision is spotted, but he is soon aware of the fact they are no longer in New York.

They are lying in the middle of a grass field in what can only be Wakanda. The gauntlet must have taken them back to their own time.

The Gauntlet.

Tony looks down and doesn't even have the energy to vomit at the sight. Steve is still on his right and their hands are still inside, how much of his hand is left he has no idea because his whole arm is bloody and burnt to the most extreme possible.

"Steve," he hears a desperate voice call from his right, but he is so dizzy he can't quite make out the voice.

"Oh Stevie," it's Bucky who collapses next to him, "Steve, I remember, I remember everything," He grips Steve's uniform with a strong hand and buries his face into Steve's neck. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, I didn't want you to get hurt, I couldn't let that happen because of me."

"So you didn't mean it?" Tony can hear Steve's curdled, raspy, barely audible words.

"No Steve,"

From the corner of Tony's blurred vision, he can see a weak smile spread across Steve's face as Bucky cries into his chest.

"You're gonna be alright Stevie," He takes a sharp breath.

"Buck," Steve whispers, agonizingly slowly reaching up and brushing a tear from Bucky's face. "It's the end of the line."

Tony smiles because it all makes sense. How blind had he been not to notice? He actually laughs, but his lungs can't take it, so it comes out as a weak cough. He closes his eyes slowly.

Just five minutes. His brain tells him.

Tony thinks he hears a muffled, "Wanda?" and a sob of relief from across the field.

He lets himself go slowly, the darkness wrapping him in a blanket.

And then he hears it.

"Mr. Stark?" It's a panicked voice, but Tony knows it oh so well, "Mr. Stark?" he says a little more worried this time.

"Peter," he mumbles out of his cracked lips.

"Mr. Stark," Peter falls to Tony's side and cradles him in his lap, "You're going to be ok Mr. Stark," his voice is cracking and when Tony forces his eyes open, he can see the tears in his eyes.

"No Peter," he chokes out, "but you are." He forces a smile, and it comes less force than he thought it would because Peter is wrapped around him and nothing has ever felt so good in his life.

"I love you, Peter," he says, a tear sliding down his cheek. Peter's eyes are big and brown, his eyebrows are raised and tears are streaming down his neck.

"I love you, Dad," He presses his head into Tony's shoulder and Tony gathers up every ounce of strength he has left to raise his right hand and brush Peter's hair out of his face, feeling the soft brown curls.

He closes his eyes and the darkness consumes him, his heart full of joy.

Tony opens his eyes slowly and sees white. He runs his hands down his body to find no wounds, just his usual Black Sabbath shirt, and jeans. He stands up to find that he is in an all-white area with no roof, floor or ceiling.

"Tony," he hears behind him. A voice he hasn't heard in a very long time.

"Jarvis?" he says, awestruck at seeing the man in front of him.

"Yes Tony, it's me," he pulls Tony into a hug.

"How?" he asks in confusion, and then he realizes where he is and what's happened.

"You know the answer to that," Jarvis says in a soft tone, "we are so proud of you, Tony."

"Oh, Tony," he hears from his other side.

His mother.

"Mom," he pulls her close and smells her familiar perfume filled his nose.

"I missed you so much," she says, brushing his hair from his face the way he did with Peter.

"You are an amazing man, I am so proud." They hold each other for a moment, enjoying being in each other's arms once again.

He hears a cough from behind him and turns around to see his father, standing in a business suit.

"Hello, Anthony," his voice is stern.

"Dad," he says nervously, stepping toward him and protecting his mother out of instinct.

"When I recorded that video for you, I meant it. I have created many things, Tony, but the thing I can say I am most proud of," he takes a step forward and places his hand on Tony's shoulder, "is you."

Tony swallows because he has never had this kind of affection from his father before.

"I love you, Tony," and Tony looks in his eyes and sees tears, "I am so proud to call you my son."

"I-," he stutters, "I love you too, Dad," and then he hugs him. The father that had ignored him his whole childhood and told him he was a disgrace is gone, and the man standing before him has had years to reflect. Jarvis and his mother join in the hug, and Tony feels an empty crack in his heart rebuild itself again.

"Captain," his father says, pulling from the hug.

Tony turns around and sees Steve, dressed to the nines in his formal army uniform and hair perfectly combed.

"Nice to see you, Howard," he steps forward and shakes Howard's hand.

"Hello, Tony," he says when he stops shaking Howard's hand.

"Hey, Steve."

"We did it," Steve says with a proud look on his face.

"We did." Tony smiles. "So about Barnes," Tony says with a grin.

"Yes Tony, you're a genius." he laughs.

"You think he will move on?" Tony asks, pushing his hands into his jean pockets.

"Maybe," but Steve doesn't sound confident.

Tony nods, "What are your plans now?"

"Well," he says, stepping closer to Tony, "I am late for a dance."

Tony pulls him into a hug one more time. "I'll see you around, I suppose," he says as Steve walks away.

"I'm sure," and with one more smile, Steve is gone.

"Come on," Tony says to his family, "we have a lot to talk about."

So they sit on a couch that has appeared and Tony tells them everything.

He tells them about the Avengers, about Pepper, about his child, and most of all,

he talks about Peter.

Epilogue

There are separate funeral services for Ironman and Captain America. The world agreed they both deserved their own service.

Bucky doesn't talk for a long time. At the funeral for Tony, Tony's voice booms over the crowd saying he forgives Bucky and Bucky nearly broke down on the floor right there.

He takes up the mantle of Captain America for a few years before resigning and marrying a woman from Brookline, never having children and never seeming truly content.

Bruce, even though he struggles with the loss of Hulk for the rest of his life marries Natasha and with extensive research and work, is able to have a child with her.

They have twins and name them Anthony and Steven.

Loki and Thor move the Asgardian population to someplace they said their father took them and rebuild their kingdom together.

Vision marries Wanda, naturally, and they adopt a displaced child from Sokovia.

Rhodey marries Carol, which no one was really expecting, but they seem happy and the wedding is joyful.

Pepper changes her name to Stark and legally marries Tony, making sure he is buried with a ring on his finger. She gives birth to a happy baby girl she names Morgan. Peter falls in love with the baby, obviously, and tells her "their dad's hero story" on the anniversary of his death every year.

But before any of that, Peter gets back from Tony's memorial and sits in front of a computer. He watches a video FRIDAY told him Tony had wanted him to see, still in his black funeral suit.

He presses play and sees the happy face of Tony Stark.

"Hey, Peter." He smiles at the camera, "I'm sorry I'm not there right now, I suppose I went down in some glorious battle." Peter laughs with Tony on the computer.

"I don't even know where to start, well actually, that's not true," he sits back in his chair a little. "Stark Industries is yours, I'm giving it all to you."

Peter sits bolt upright and almost chokes on the water he just took a sip of.

Mr. Stark is giving me the company?

"Now I know that might sound crazy, but hear me out," he leans closer to the camera, a serious look on his face, "You are the most amazing, capable, intelligent, perfect human being on this planet. I know you might be weirded out by this, but you were kind of like a son to me," Peter watches a tear roll down his cheek.

"I love you, so much, kid," He puts his hand on part of the screen and Peter places his hand to match. "You made my life worth living, and I wish I could be there to watch you grow into the amazing man I know you will be." He sniffs deeply and brushes his hand across his face. "Goodbye, Peter, take care of Pepper for me ok?" Peter nods to the screen.

"I love you, son," and then the screen goes black.

Peter stares at it for a few minutes, letting the tears flow from his face. He rewinds the tape again to where his hand is pressed against the camera and places his own hand their again.

"I love you, Dad," He says loud and clear so that wherever Tony is, he can hear him say it.

He does.

The End.

Post Notes: Well, folks, that's it. Thank you for all the amazing love and support. I hope the ending wasn't too sad, I know it wasn't exactly happy but I personally think it is satisfying in its own way. In case you guys didn't catch on, I went Stucky. What Bucky forgot was that he and Steve were in love but couldn't because it was too dangerous. Bucky told him he never loved him so Steve would be safe, hence the "you didn't mean it". The fourth of July is Steve's birthday and that year was his 16th. He says "when the man said Bucky, I was a sixteen-year-old kid again." This didn't make sense to me because they were friends much longer than that. Steve fell in love with Bucky at sixteen, and since Bucky is a year older than Steve Bucky was seventeen. Seventeen is one of the winter soldier's trigger words. Idk what you guys think, if you ship it or not, but I wanted to put it in any way.

Thanks to each and every one of you once again for all the love, I will be eternally grateful.

-Marvel Nerd


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